Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club

eae
gern etme o- Nhe’
Pqhaibriue vm”
Set TUN AEE PV aeaias Seely. ©
cs paebaitas deer ve

boda dedetielirdavete'
i Brad: come ded ete 2 hae
Sent 5 "
SS Sens is ee diaw aed ts tod Tio de dyin tities , .
EaIh tains Ha hat ain A Jad seaa fete. CECI Detect
ted adit Salah ip Hed stare aie heehee edn? fen ge ted neti oe ra re
foe ‘eh Inds teced een e 4 Peet han ebere er ae
Sretice rte yr thier areas te beter odes Trdg eats ne ie
Meee re fitedudy ted etysne aN ny
Tear Denentinge Tig tbie cl precereria eis Seelam eeatteeokS
; eg stint prydary hey ebanasctapeten a Spe et beheeit Ys us
eT Sr aed - phi anes
Mae ep Neer bcherdetevabertene dss penn
Daeseseete Leteite

heeds.
5 arene
Tote tetas aa a
een ueendod tpenaeds
mead ctuiset oy
: ebeben

bes abet Delve tee Mae e =
padeda rowed tne ok ed
Gctediet ete

wes tn oreded nar ees. 1, f
cone epee d “ree a to
a> et ae Pel dw ee ewe “jhaigediphgioe +
pars iene ne : ca Pana vet 2
esse erenne ‘ it paneer e, iu oie bah eect
oa ~ > = dene
ape
Pe

rhea hem
Te tet ates

Arend
pia te bel pi Seeded etm
Pinatas

wh etme tet
pas

rere
Pelle raee tee
seep eeicte gate seen Pady ty pet wet or IS
yee sehy J
che imate U2 aim dy tern be : .
re a : ; pees eS
Mh gee atest a Paras
Ptdate arteritis

felintvie
eeprse rey oe
Bereta
pM pdae dp ewent Oey legen ood
2 yen oradeas sisted t asain
Aenteot

data Fe
ip dan nee a eh
oe pane or
Vy len dotnc nd a a ere
dsp nant: Bea atarbaws pabemty Cee EN
pee j = ;
Viterien. Wen eese ty
Sitihn ese behobete
Lake te
otek eae ete
gent alte

Ao aati

an eRedr tnt edad oh.

Taine een
saat duandaen dete: Fadase fates disecin ten 7
I Ee invites See neere™)
sigece te reviterinliete o8¢ * , arpaerersarny Terra ed z ‘
Sede te lhiawe ate
hes tae ete® RE gcee pore tatts bet
neath
" wNde Reis

Serer

Toit de tines

SNS ee nevaetes

arate
Wb ane ectrens :

TAs eet

Ti retemelerebntetn 3
jae
eae

Ss:

z SS ey
THSONIAN INSTITUTION

NOILALILSNI_ NVINOSHLINS S3iuvugiy

———————

N
N
S

NVINOSHLIWS
SMITHSONIAN

SMITHSONIAN
i
lily
NVINOSHLIWS
Y
\S
SMITHSONIAN

NOSHLIWS Sauvuait LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NO!

i) = ” z ss
z a us i 7.
_< A < ka < (5
at er a c xe
m a, oO. a om <
am O = e) -
—S z ay) z -
INSTITUTION NOILOLILSNS NVINOSHLINS Satuvyudl] LI
iB z - z El
Oo — om Q jen)
> = Pia 2 cae
a i 2 : 2
: o AN ie o Lore ye
NOSHLINS SS3IYVYUSIT LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NO
wm Za ws: op) a se “”
= ak . = x N =
= _— _ ~
= os = 3 : S) Ze
> = Cs =: S >
z w) * im Vet ~ >
THSONIAN INSTITUTION NOILALILSNI_NVINOSHLIWS Sa uvya yt
wm s WN
3 S oN af
a < a NSS < z 2
s am 5 MO ¢ aX
fe) a s) oes iS
z oy z2 eerie 2
S3I4WHAIT LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN NO
FA Ta = My (ee =
S : S = S
Ee ea = am =
~ a =) iD =) {2
i = E aaa Ee
e on = ,. i =e)
z p Z ¥ Z

ITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOILALILSNI_NVINOSHLINS Saluvadi7 tl

a) Zz
Z : 2 4, z z = Ui <=
5 Zz Vi, 6 ioe 5
wy (op) typ. G ir.
Y fy oO lip: Lip ee
= 9G ll = 2
> >
a = z = a
NOSHLIWS

LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NC

” = w” = 7)
Zz
= & = a i
me 7p) o
. < =A ee 44 a <x {Ss
ac = oc c o
a ay CO : ma — (28)
a ro} a .e) =
J az 3 Fe —)
INSTITUTION NOILALILSNI NVINOSHLIWS S3I uvudil L!
a S ib alas WAN ce . A
Ly SSS APD a Xe)
ek Wg b> 0] Ae i= (SQUID xD =

a oe Nerd vee, i) pees IN coe MA ase
o = n =
-S_ SMITHSONIAN tNSTITUTION NOILNLILSNI NVINOSHLINS S3luyug
g Za z Zz j
= = Viy = =
—! = y iu ete el
2 = o Pf i & 2
= Ae ; :
NI_ NVINOSHLIWS SAIYVYGIT LIBRARIES INSTITUTIC
7) = 77) Ld 77)
= = = S =
e we e ce vice
= a 4 =
fe) N a 3S a 5
FA =J za at Zz
S SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOILOALILSNI NVINOSHLINS S3Iu¥VYg
7A Or: a (am “1 =
2 o S) mo .W. cS)
5 2 5 DNS =
2: > so =
5 Bu - in -
w”
Zz oO z OD Wee
NI SAIYVYSIT LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTIC
cS = 4 Z S Xs = Zz
= 2: = 2 =
ae ; : ;
75) . wy ae
S SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOILNLILSNI NVINOSHLINS S3IYVYS

“ys

7) > ” = *, e
3 . 2 ” on . XN us
© je tp a a = ANS o
<if U7 a < a NG Nie
oa 5 oa 5 \ oe
=i i Z as > Seite ey

|} NVINOSHLINS S3iX¥VUgGIT LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTIO

GE ot See = S = ie
wm 2 = o = lg v0]

2 \e 5 : 5 GY?
m WY’ & = 2 a es
(o9) j = ” = (dp)

5 Oy SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOILNLILSNI NVINOSHLINS $3 iyYVvygi
= * ; — j
=
sa
an
oO
Zz
>
z=

NVINOSHLIWS
SMITHSONIAN
NVINOSHLIW

NVINOSHLIWS S3iuvyai LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTIO?

Yd!? LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN

= = “ =

o a ws a

s a oe =

= 5 = 45

= c =< °C

4 si = =

S S = S

2 2 my S

>) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOILNLILSNI NVINOSHLINS S3iyuvugi
Zz a r ZZ,

o : <ASON, .o) =a ey

on oh fies SPR = fs Xap’ SD a Wx 2 VSSZIN

Than a

N Es
iH

ISSN 0007-1595
Bulletin of the

British Ornithologists’ Club

Edited by
Dr D. W. SNOW

Volume113 No.1 March 1993

FORTHCOMING MEETINGS

Tuesday, 27 April 1993. Paul Salaman will speak on “‘Avifauna
assisting Conservation: an example from the Colombian Choco’’.
Paul Salaman is an environmental biology undergraduate of Anglia
Polytechnic University and has led two Cambridge Student ornitho-
logical conservation expeditions to Colombia. These resulted in the
implementation of new protected areas in Colombia, for which he
received the first B.P. Conservation Award.

Those wishing to attend are asked to notify the Hon. Secretary by
Tuesday, 13 April 1993*.

Tuesday, 18 May 1993, at 6 p.m. Annual General Meeting; after
which Dr Adrian Lewis will speak on ‘‘A Bird Atlas of Kenya’’. Dr
Lewis has widespread knowledge of the ornithology of eastern and
western Europe and of the Middle East. Whilst a lecturer in geology at
the University of Nairobi he began work, as senior author, on A Bird
Atlas for Kenya. He remained in Kenya to complete this project. In
addition, he has written many papers on Kenya’s birds and mammals,
and written, or contributed to, other books on Middle Eastern and
Afrotropical birds.

Those wishing to attend are asked to notify the Hon. Secretary by
Tuesday, 4 May 1993*.

Tuesday, 27 July 1993. Professor Charles Pilcher will speak on
Kuwait. Professor Pilcher has been Professor of Pharmacology at
the University of Kuwait for some years. He has detailed knowledge of
the ornithology of the area, and directed the ICBP surveys on the
environmental situation which were undertaken there after the Gulf War.

Those wishing to attend are asked to notify the Hon. Secretary by
Tuesday, 13 Fuly 1993*.

Tuesday, 21 September 1993. Dr Geoffrey Davison will speak on
‘Pheasants in Malaysian Rain Forest’.

Tuesday, 19 October 1993. Dr Clive Mann will speak on
“Bornean Birds’’.

Meetings are held in the Sherfield Building of Imperial College, South
Kensington, London at 6.15 p.m. for 7 p.m. A map showing Imperial
College will be sent to members on request.

*Late acceptances and cancellations can usually be taken up to the
Thursday morning preceding a meeting, although members are asked to
accept by 14 days beforehand as arrangements for meetings have to be
confirmed with Imperial College well in advance.

If you accept and subsequently find you are unable to attend please notify
the Hon. Secretary, 1 Uppingham Road, Oakham, Rutland LE15 67B.
(tel. 0572 722788 ) as soon as possible as the booking can often be offered to
another member.

1 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

Bulletin of the
BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB

Vol. 113 No. 1 Published: 30 March 1993

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE FOR THE CLUB’S CENTENARY
YEAR 1992

Meetings. Nine evening meetings with a buffet supper were held dur-
ing the year at Imperial College and, in celebration of the Centenary of the
Club in 1992, a dinner was held at Stationers’ Hall in the City of London
on 16 November.

A total of 463 members and guests attended these functions, which
is the highest number in recent years except for 1990, when
13 meetings were held which included the 800th meeting of the Club and
the Conversazione at the XXth I.0.C.

At the evening meetings the programme in 1992 presented a wide
diversity of ornithological subjects; the Club was particularly fortunate
that Dr M. Louette, Professor Storrs Olson, Drs Walter and Ulrike
Thiede and Dr Carlo Violani were able to spare time to speak to the Club
durings visits they made to London.

An account of the Centenary Dinner is published elsewhere in the
Bulletin.

Committee. The Committee met 8 times during the year and the
average attendance of the 9 members was 77%.

The sale of the property at Tring, bequeathed to the Club by the late
Herbert Stevens, was completed in July. The Supplemental to the Trust
Deed setting up the Herbert Stevens Fund with the proceeds of the sale
was presented and approved at the Annual General Meeting. It has been
placed on the Central Register file of the Charity Commission.

Two of the Trustees, in whom the property had been vested,
Mr David Calder and Mr John Parker, signified their wish to stand down
at the Annual General Meeting. The Club is indebted to Mr Calder and
Mr Parker for this service to the Club over many years.

Mr Peter Oliver continues to serve as Trustee and his appointment,
together with that of Mr Richard Price and Mr Nigel Crocker, as New
Trustees to the Herbert Stevens Fund was approved at the same meeting.

‘The Committee reported last year that it hoped to use the augmented
funds available to the Club from income generated by the Fund to finance
additional projects which are in accordance with the objects of the Club.
The Committee is presently considering the publication of monographs
particularly concerned with taxonomy and systematics which institutions
in this country have seemingly neither the funds nor the inclination to
publish.

The precedent for additional publications was set in 1992, to mark the
Centenary of the Club. A special issue of the Bulletin (Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl.
112A) was published in November entitled Avian Systematics and

Report of the Committee for 1992 2 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

Taxonomy, edited by Dr James Monk, who solicited papers from some
20 internationally renowned authors. The volume, in hardback and of
over 300 pages, is likely to be a required reference for some years to come.
Dr Monk is to be congratulated for this prestigious production.

The Club also marked the Centenary with a joint project with Helm
Information. Dr David Snow, to whom the Club is much indebted, was
commissioned to edit and annotate an anthology of papers which had
appeared in the Bulletin over the past 100 years. Birds, Discovery and
Conservation was launched in September at the B.O.U.’s meeting at
Liverpool. The book has been very warmly received.

The Club gratefully acknowledges grants of £500 and of £250 from
the J. Rothschild Group Charitable Trust and another charitable trust
respectively towards the costs of its production.

Deaths. It is with deep regret that the Committee reports the deaths of
Mr R. A. Hughes (Member 1987-1991), Mr R. M. O’Rourke (Member
1987-1992) and The Reverend Dr William Serle O.B.E. (Member
1945-1992). Dr Serle was probably the last member to describe and
exhibit a new form at a Club meeting—he had collected a new species of
shrike Chlorophoneus (Malaconotus) kupeensis and a new subspecies of
Apalis Apalis rufogularis sanderi during a tour of duty in West Africa
(Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 71 (1951):41-43). An obituary will appear in Jbis.

Membership. The paid-up membership at 31 December 1992 was
594, 363 members with U.K. addresses and 231 with addresses overseas.
Although there were 24 new members in 1992 and 6 members who were
in arrears became fully paid-up, 26 members resigned and 31 failed to pay
their subscriptions. This resulted in a drop in the total membership from
the 623 of 1991. This reduction perhaps partly reflects the increase in the
subscription, which had to be introduced in 1992, and a review by many
members of their subscription lists, which has been reported generally by
societies.

Bulletin Sales. Non-member subscribers were 147, 24 in the U.K.
and 123 overseas. Although 7 institutions did not renew their subscrip-
tions it is noted that there were 6 new individual non-member subscribers
in 1992.

The Club is very grateful to Mrs F.E. Warr for looking after the stock of
back-numbers of the Bulletin, and dealing with their despatch and that of
separates to authors.

Bulletin. Volume 112 consisted of 280 pages, a further increase in size
from the previous volume, and contained 43 papers and 7 shorter (In
Brief) contributions. Papers included descriptions of 2 new species
(including a new Palaearctic finch) and 7 new subspecies (including a
new Palaearctic race of Sand Martin). New distributional data were
published for Cameroun, Cape Verde Islands, and 3 Central American
and 3 South American countries. Among a variety of papers of ecological
or behavioural interest may be mentioned a study of vocal behaviour of
one of Africa’s least known owls, Fubula letti, the first detailed account
of the natural history of the world’s smallest flightless bird, Atlantisia
rogersi of Inaccessible Island, and a recent detailed study of the Neospiza
buntings also of Inaccessible Island. There was the usual variety of papers
dealing with points of distribution, taxonomy and nomenclature. The

Annual General Meeting 3 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

geographical distribution of authors was perhaps the widest so far, with
contributors from 24 countries in 5 continents.

Finance. The recently introduced credit card facility for the payment
of subscriptions and purchases proved to be popular with members and is
being increasingly used.

Sales of the two Centenary publications and of the Club ties were at a
satisfactory rate in 1992 and helped to offset a part of the cost of their
production.

Investment income fell, particularly in the last quarter of 1992, because
of the considerable reduction in available interest rates.

The Accounts for 1992, which are not yet available, will be tabled at the
Annual General Meeting and published subsequently in the Bulletin.
Members wishing to have copies before the Annual General Meeting are
asked to apply to the Honorary Treasurer.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The Annual General Meeting of the British Ornithologists’ Club will
be held in the Ante-room, Sherfield Building, Imperial College,
London SW7 at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, 18 May 1993.

AGENDA

1. Minutes of the 1992 Annual General Meeting (see Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl.
112: 137-138).
. Report of the Committee and Accounts for 1992.
. The Bulletin.
The election of Officers. The Committee proposes that:-
(i) Mr D. Griffin M. A. be elected Chairman vice Mr R.E.F. Peal,
who retires on completion of his term of office.
(11) The Reverend T. W. Gladwin be elected Vice-Chairman vice
Mr D. Griffin, who retires on completion of his term of office.
(iu) Mr S. J. Farnsworth be re-elected Honorary Treasurer.
(iv) Mrs A. M. Moore be re-elected Honorary Secretary.
(v) MrR.E. F. Peal be elected member of the Committee in the event
of the Reverend T. W. Gladwin being elected Vice-Chairman.
5. Any other business of which notice shall have been given in accordance
with Rule (12).

kwh

By Order of the Committee
AMBERLEY M. MOORE, Honorary Secretary

The eight hundred and twenty-third meeting, a dinner to celebrate the Centenary of the
Club, was held at the Stationers’ Hall in the City of London on Monday, 19 November 1992.
43 members and 33 guests attended.

Members attending were: Mr R. E. F. Peat (Chairman), M. A. Apcock, Miss H. Baker,
K. Betton, Mrs D. Brab.ey, N. J. BUCKNELL, P. J. BuLL, Cdr M. B. Casement, RN Retd,
Dr R. A. Cuexe, G. S. Cowes, Dr R. A. F. Cox, A. Gisss, Dr A. Goster, Rev. T. W.
GLADWIN, D. GrirFIn, Mrs B. P. Hatt, C. A. R. Herm, K. W. HENsHALL, P. Hocc,
S. Howe, Y. Lemavuviet, Dr J. F. Monk, D. Montier, Mrs A. M. Moors, Mrs M. N.
Mutter, P. J. Oviver, J. G. Parker, R. C. Price, R. S. Prircuett, A. J. RANDALL, P. S.

Meetings A Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

REDMAN, R. E. Scott, P. SELLAR, Dr N. SKINNER, Dr D. W. SNow, N. H. F. Stone, Dr
C. G. VIoLANi, M. Waters, Mrs F. E. Warr, Professor W. E. WALTERS, C. E. WHEELER,
M. W. Woopcock.

Guests of the Club: Dr C. EpELsTaMm, Dir. K. ENGSTROM, Professor Sir BRIAN FOLLETT,
F. R.S., Lady Fotiett, Dr J. J. D. GREENWoopD (member), Professor JANET Kear, Miss
BARBARA YOUNG.

Guests: Mrs B. Apcock, Ms E. Berry, I. Bishop, Mrs G. BoNHaM, M. BrapLey, Mrs M.
BuLL, Dr J. A. Cotes, Ms C. M. Jackson-HouLsTon, Mrs J. M. GLapwin, Mrs S. GRIFFIN,
Mrs B. HAMMOND Gisss, Mrs A. Hetm, Mrs M. HENSHALL, Mrs D. Monk, Mrs M.
Montirr, P. J. Moore, C. A. MuLter, Mrs M. Oviver, Mrs E. PEAL, Mrs H. Price,
Mrs K. RANDALL, Mrs A. Scott, Mrs B. SNow, J. Warr, Mrs S. WELLS, Mrs D. WHEELER,
Mrs B. Woopcock.

Members and guests were received by the Chairman and Mrs Peal in the Stock Room, and
the reception was followed by dinner in the Livery Hall of the Worshipful Company of
Stationers and Newspaper Makers.

After the Loyal Toast, proposed by the Chairman, the Hon. Secretary read the
congratulatory messages that had been received from ornithologists at home and abroad,
with the apologies from those who had hoped to be present but were unable to be.
‘These were received from: Dr Dean Amadon (American Museum of Natural History), who
particularly regretted being unable to be present, due to recent illness, as he had attended
the B.O.U.’s centenary celebration in 1959; Professor Walter Bock (Columbia University,
New York); the Editorial Board of British Birds; D. R. Calder; J. H. Elgood; Dr C. Erard
(Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris); B. H. Harley, who most regrettably was stuck in a
train somewhere in Essex; Dr John Kricher (President, Nuttall Ornithological Club, the
B.O.C.’s senior by 19 years); De Gerard Morel (France); Dr Kenneth Parkes (Carnegie
Museum, Pittsburgh); Dr C. M. Perrins; Dr Theresa Searight (better known to
ornithologists as Theresa Clay); K. YV. Thompson; Dr Karel Voous (Netherlands).
Dr Erard included in his message his gratifying opinion that “‘the Bulletin is still the leading
publication in this field [avian taxonomy]; I would say that it is the Official Journal of
ornithological nomenclature and taxonomy. This is a very important role nowadays when
molecules are too often preferred to organisms.”

Speeches and further toasts followed. Dr James Monk began by introducing and
welcoming the Club’s guests. He conveyed the Club’s best wishes to the three other
national ornithological organizations, the British Ornithologists’ Union represented
by Professor Janet Kear, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds represented
by Barbara Young, and the British Trust for Ornithology represented by Dr Jeremy
Greenwood. Members and guests were then treated to speeches, sometimes instructive and
always entertaining, by (in order of delivery) Professor Sir Brian Follett (Biological
Secretary and Vice-President, Royal Society), Professor Janet Kear (President, B.O.U.),
Dr Carlo Violani (Italy; speaking for overseas members), Ronald Peal (Chairman) and
Dr Jeremy Greenwood (Director, British Trust for Ornithology). Space is insufficient to
allow full transcripts of the speeches, and selection difficult. Because it throws an interesting
sidelight on the Club’s history, and contains a worthy tribute to a former editor of the
Bulletin, most space is given to extracts from Dr Violani’s speech.

Sir Brian Follett recalled that his university, Bristol, subscribed to the Bulletin from its
first issue. The 1890s were in many ways “‘the heroic age of zoology”’, but it had to be
admitted that interest in animal behaviour was limited, and binoculars were hardly ever
used; ‘“‘they had another weapon with which they enjoyed ornithology they shot the beasts!”’
Nevertheless, in ornithology as in literature and the arts, there were giants in those days, the
like of whom we do not see today.

Janet Kear recalled gentler aspects of ornithology, which began to appear 100 years ago.
The winter of 1892/3 was extremely cold. Gulls were being shot from the London bridges,
as they had long been; but in this winter the practice was stopped by London magistrates,
and for the first time the regular feeding of gulls began, as hundreds of working men and
boys went down to the river during the midday break and gave them scraps from their lunch.
And the centenary dinner itself was another aspect of the civilised side of ornithology; “‘it is
the pleasure of 100 years of talking, thinking, listening and exchanging ideas about birds that
we are celebrating tonight.”’

Carlo Violani recalled that a compatriot, Count Tommaso Salvadori, was a founder
member of the Club, and was a regular attender of its meetings when he was working on his
volumes of the great Catalogue of Birds of the British Museum.

“Only when he was too old to travel from Turin to London, he sent his papers directly to
Sharpe to be read at the Club meetings on his behalf. One of his last letters to Sharpe (now

Meetings 5 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

preserved in the Blacker-Wood Library of McGill University, Montreal) is particularly
worth quoting tonight, as it gives us the flavour of his time:

Turin, 10th March 1904

My dear Sharpe,

I was very pleased to hear that you were safely back from your expedition to the West
Indies. My pleasure was increased by at last receiving a letter from you, an event which
seldom happens to me. I had perceived from your remarks on Lampribis (not Hagedashia!)
olivacea that you were a little bit touched by my criticism! My dear old friend, we both
work for the sake of truth, and as we have both done some work in Ornithology, I think
that we can both sustain a decent criticism, when we make a mistake, which is quite
human.

What I think of yourself you must know, both as an ornithologist and a dear friend. In
both respects you are at the top of my list. I suppose you will have something to tell about
your recent trip. I must say that I am rather disgusted with the recent work of many
ornithologists. When the trinomial system has the consequence of adopting such names as
Coccothraustes coccothraustes coccothraustes, Oriolus oriolus oviolus, Pica pica pica,
I conclude that the system is absurd! No less absurd is Hartert’s system of using the
names Carpodacus (mas.) rhodochroa (fem.), C. rhodopepla, C. rosea, C. erythrina,
C. synoica. Sensible people will laugh at us if we continue in this way. What to say of
Kleinschmidt? Have you seen his recent paper in the J. f. Orn.? Do you know what are
Turdus vernus, Turdus collaris, Turdus arboreus. T. socius, T. borealis? {1 do not understand
why Reichenow accepts such insanities!

I do very little ornithological work at present. No fresh collections are coming in. After
the death of Fea, we have no other good collector.

I should like very much to have the opportunity of visiting again old England and the
many friends who remember me! I much doubt that there is much chance for this. There
are too many persons who expect help from me, and four children among them. Can I go
about spending the money which is necessary for them? Let us do our duty first of all.

My daughter as you know is back with me, together with her child. Believe me always,

Your old friend
T. Salvadori.

“Less than a fortnight ago, I was staying in a medieval town in Central Italy, working in a
small museum which, eventually, will take Salvadori’s name. A precious collection of some
600 bird specimens secured by Savadori himself in his native region—the Marche—and
donated to that town by his descendants needs re-cataloguing and restoration. Many of the
original labels were destroyed long ago, but through Salvadori’s letters and early writings it
is possible to reconstruct the origin and the historical details of several of these birds. Some
of the rarer specimens, however, including falcons, a male White-headed Duck and an
extinct francolin, were thought to have been dispersed, but last week they have been retraced
under false data and locality in a local private collection. It is mostly because someone could
re-identify Salvadori’s handwriting on their tiny labels, that these specimens can be claimed
back as stolen property, and the unscrupulous owner will be finally brought to justice!”’

“Unfortunately very few people in Italy care now for the rich historical material housed in
scientific museums, or for bird taxonomy and systematics. Birdwatching and mathematical
models or formulas are still highly fashionable in ornithology, in my country as abroad. So,
when some years ago our unforgettable friend Con Benson suggested that I should re-
examine the historically important bird collections in Italian museums, I hardly imagined
that a new field of research was about to be opened in front of me.

It was Con Benson who showed me first Salvadori’s handwriting on the labels of some
African parrots in Cambridge Museum; it was Con Benson who guided me in the search of
type specimens, long forgotten in dusty drawers; it was Con Benson who introduced me to
the scientific world of the Bulletin and to the lively community of the Club members and
their close friends. He always devoted a great lot of his time to helping and corresponding
with young ornithologists, especially those from foreign countries. What a marvellous man
Con Benson was!”’

The Chairman began his speech by expressing his appreciation of the tie which has always
linked Club membership with Union membership. He then drew attention to the Club’s
international strength, which contrasts too strongly with its limited strength in this country.
“The Club is based in this country, but over 35% of our members are in other countries and
85°, of non-members subscriptions to the Bulletin come from abroad. There are just two

Meetings Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

The Centenary Dinner. Upper: Dr James Monk introduces the Club’s guests. Lower: Sir
Brian Follett recalls the 1890s.

Photographs: Y. Lemauviel

Meetings 7 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

British universities which subscribe to the Bulletin—I hasten to add that Bristol is one of
them—against, for example, 30 or more universities in the U.S.A. So perhaps we should not
be surprised to find how little importance is attached to avian taxonomy in Britain. . .

““The Club, like any organism in an ever-changing environment, has had to adapt or sink.
A century ago, very soon after its foundation, it is recorded that it contained nearly all
the working members of the Union resident in this country. They were overwhelmingly
gentlemen of financial substance plus a very few museum staff. Almost all would have had
their own collections of bird skins and of eggs to which they added by purchase as well as by
their own collecting in the field. An outstanding example of an old style meeting was the
100th meeting of the Club held in 1903 when, after the Chairman’s Annual Address, over
30 skins were exhibited and there were described as new to science 3 new genera, 17 species
and 11 subspecies. . .

““Whereas the content of meetings has changed gradually over the years, in 1952 there was
a sudden transition in the Bulletin from being a report of proceedings of a meeting and
short contributions from absent members to being a conventional scientific journal: We
have been fortunate in securing a succession of eminent editors—in particular two who
are here tonight, Dr James Monk, Editor for a record period of just over 15 years, and
Dr David Snow, our present Editor—both of them former Editors of [bis and both of them
President of the Union for part of the time they have edited the Bulletin. As Dr Snow has
pointed out elsewhere, the Bulletin has throughout its 112 volumes been maintained in its
small format, appreciated equally by those who read it in a train and by librarians. I should
like to take this opportunity to thank another who is here, our Honorary Secretary, who
works so hard and cheerfully for the Club. . .

““At about the same time as the style of the Bulletin was changed, some 40 years ago, it was
decided for financial reasons to seek charitable status for the Club and to achieve that it
became necessary to cement the Club to its purposes of scientific ornithological discussion
and the promotion of publication of scientific ornithological information.

““We have resisted the urge common to centenarian bodies to publish a lengthy history
of the Club. We have chosen instead to commemorate the Bulletin by the anthology
produced by Dr Snow—Birds, discovery and conservation—and to have a special volume
of the Bulletin, edited by Dr Monk, of invited papers by leading biologists, on Avian
Systematics and Taxonomy, copies of which have just arrived from the printers.

““As regards the future, we are hoping to publish a monograph cataloguing the skins of
extinct and seriously endangered bird species in the collections of the Natural History
Museum, a work of specialized interest but of particular value to those concerned in
conservation of endangered species and in biodiversity generally. We hope that it may not be
too long before we are in a position to publish it. There is also the possibility of publishing
other monographs on taxonomic or allied subjects, which are too long for acceptance for
journals.

“The Club is in good shape at the end of its first 100 years. I hope and pray that it may long
continue to flourish, increasing the knowledge of birds, to the advantage both of man and of
birds.”

Jeremy Greenwood, after referring to the early members of the Club taking ‘‘a rather
more robust attitude to birds than we do today’’, with the example of the fate meted out to an
abnormally coloured Blue Tit (exhibited as a skin at the 100th meeting), pointed out that in
the same year Club members established the Kite Committee, which marked the beginning
of effective protection of the Red Kite in Britain, and the following year saw the setting
up of the Committee on Migration, which organized one of the first pieces of cooperative
research in ornithology. He ended by proposing the final toast, to the Club’s founders,
a remarkably diverse group of people but all sharing, in greater or lesser degree, the
“immense and almost boyish enthusiasm’? which was Bowdler Sharpe’s outstanding
quality, an enthusiasm which has continued and has been ultimately responsible for the
Centenary Dinner.

The eight hundred and twenty-fourth meeting of the Club was held on Tuesday,
1 December 1992 in the Ante-room, Sherfield Building, Imperial College, South
Kensington at 6.15 p.m. 27 members and 15 guests attended.

Members attending were: R. E. F. Prat (Chairman), R.-E. Scorr (speaker),
M. A. Apcock, Miss H. Baker, K. F. Berton, Dr M. Carswe_, Cdr M. B. CaseMENT,
RN Retd, Dr R. A. Cuexe, I. D. Cotiins, P. J. Conner, Dr R. A. F. Cox, J. H. ELcoop,
G. D. Figen, A. Gres, Rev. T. W. GLapwin, D. Grirrin, C.A.R. HeLm, Dr A. MELDRUM,

Meetings 8 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

Dr J. F. Monk, D. Montier, Mrs A. M. Moore, M. L. R. Romer, Dr R. SELF, P. J. SELLAR,
N. H. F. Stone, A. R. H. Swasn, C. E. WHEELER.

Guests attending were: Mrs B. Apcock, R. L. Berry, Major D. CouNseELL,
Mr J. B. FisHer, Mrs L. FisHer, Mrs J. GLapwin,:-Ms C. Horr, Mrs H. MELDRUM,
Miss M. Miveva, Mrs M. Montier, P. J. Moore, R.NewTon, N. PEAcE, T. PARMENTIER,
Mrs A. Scorr.

After supper it was pleasing to be able to welcome Mr Scott again to speak to the Club. He
has sent the following account of his address.

In February and March 1992, Ann and Bob Scott visited Rwanda and Burundi in Central
Africa with the objective of running training courses for the field staff at the national parks.
Government agencies, INECN (Burundi) and ORTPN (Rwanda) were very supportive of
the project and the RSPB provided sabbatical leave and much of the training equipment.

In Burundi the base for the course was the Rusizi National Park at the mouth of the
Rusizi river on the northern shore of Lake Tanganyika. Elements of the course included:
birds and their adaptation to the environment; use of field guides and optical equipment;
migration; field identification; and record keeping. The second course was held in Rwanda
at the Akagera National Park on the border with Tanzania. This course followed a similar
structure but with more emphasis on showing birds to people.

Both countries face several environmental problems that are common to much of Africa.
These include a rapidly expanding human population, land use pressures, loss of protected
land, and poaching. The key protected sites provided some spectacular bird watching,
including numerous Palaearctic migrants as well as some of the local endemic species. In
addition to the two National Parks, visits were made to Lac Rwihinda reserve in Burundi,
and in Rwanda to Nyungwe Forest reserve and Volcans National Park.

The eight hundred and twenty-fifth meeting of the Club was held on Tuesday, 19 January
1993 in the Ante-room, Sherfield Building, Imperial College at 6.15 p.m. 21 members and
9 guests attended.

Members attending were: R. E. F. PEAL (Chairman), Dr A. G. GOSLER (speaker), M. A.
Apcock, P. J. BELMAN, Mrs D. M. BraDLey, D. R. CALprEr, Cdr M. B. CASEMENT, RN Retd,
Professor R. CHANDLER, Dr R. A. CHEKE, P. J. CONDER, S. J. FARNSWORTH, Rev. T. W.
GLADwIn, D. GriFFIN, R. H. Kerrie, Dr C. Mann, Dr J. F. Monk, Mr D. Monrtirr,
Mrs A. M. Moors, R. G. Morcan, Dr R. SELF, N. H. F. STONE,

Guests attending were: Mrs B. Apcock, D. Brooks, Mrs W. Brooks, Mrs F.
FARNSWORTH, Miss H. FuLLER, Mrs J. M. Grapwin, Ms K. Horr, Mrs M. Montirr,
P. J. Moore.

After supper Dr A. G. GosLer spoke on his work on the long-term study of the Great Tit
near Oxford. His talk was received with great interest and prompted many questions. A
summary of his talk is given below.

Bill adaptations in the Great Tit—or ‘A mandible for all seasons’. The enormous diversity
of bill adaptations shown by different bird taxa leads one to consider whether variation in bill
size and shape within species is also adaptive. This question was addressed by a detailed
study over more than ten years of bill variation in the Great Tit population of Wytham
Woods, Oxfordshire. The bills of birds within this population varied more than any other
morphological character. Bill size differed between sexes but not as predicted by differences
in body size alone. In observations of captive birds in the laboratory, bill size was correlated
with feeding efficiency for different foods. Bill size and shape in the wild birds varied
seasonally and closely tracked changes in the birds’ food supply from winter seed to summer
insects. Bill length was related to prey size during the breeding season. In winter, sex
differences in the bill corresponded to sex differences in foraging. These reflected
differences in access to resources that arose from the hierarchy of social dominance. Social
dominance also explained differences in the relative variation in bill size in different age and
sex classes. Finally, bill size correlated with a measure of body condition, indicating that it
could have a direct influence on fitness.

817th meeting of the Club
The following is asummary of Dr Carlo Violani’s talk on Giovanni Antonio Scopoli and his
influence on Italian ornithology.
Giovanni Antonio Scopoli (Cavalese, Trent, 1723—Pavia, 1788) was one of the most
typical of the versatile scientists of the European Enlightenment. His main fields of interest

B.T. Thomas 9 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

and works ranged from dietetics to zoology, from botany to mineralogy. He started his
career as a physician in several localities of the Austrian Empire (Trent, Graz, Vienna, and
Carniola in Slovenia) and was subsequently appointed as professor of Botany and
Chemistry first at Schemnitz (now Czechoslovakia) and finally at the University of Pavia.
His ornithological writings are included in the Anni Historico-naturales (1769-1772),
Introductio ad historiam naturalem (1777) and in Deliciae Florae et Faunae Insubricae
(1786-88), where he described several new species and genera of birds (such as Sylvia, Apus,
Branta) in accordance with Linnaeus’ system.

An early appreciation of Scopoli’s ornithology is documented by a famous letter by
Gilbert White: ‘‘Scopoli’s characters of his ordines and genera are clear, just and expressive,
and much in the spirit of Linnaeus. There is room to expect great things from the hands of
that man, who is a good naturalist; and one would think that a history of the birds of such a
distant and southern region as Carniola would be new and interesting. Every kingdom,
every province should have its own monographer. ..”’. The influence that Scopoli had on
Italian ornithology was to be noticed in the long run, as it inspired directly or indirectly a
series of regional works on birds from several districts, such as—among others—Bonelli’s
Catalogue of the birds of Piedmont, and Savi’s Tuscan Ornithology. Scopoli’s adherence
to the Linnaean rules (but not as blindly as Stresemann hastily remarked) helped to
consolidate the use of the binomial system in the ornithological literature of our country.

Birds of a northern Venezuelan
secondary-scrub habitat

by Betsy Trent Thomas
Received 21 February 1992

Secondary-scrub habitat is distributed widely in the neotropics, and
increasing especially in areas adjacent to growing urban populations.
Although this habitat generally ranges from Mexico to Argentina, few
long-term observations have been published about the birds of this
community. In addition to the obvious application to conservation, of a
species list at a site likely to undergo further alteration and degradation,
there are other uses for such a list. Monthly presence, abundance,
breeding, and moult records for over 19 years indicate which species are
resident and which are long-distance migrants, both North American
and austral. Less clear are Venezuelan species that use secondary-scrub
habitat seasonally and are probably local wanderers, or are genuinely
uncommon birds.

The Appendix is a compilation of data collected mostly from April
1966 through June 1984. It gives 191 species, of which c. 36% (n=69) are
residents of the study site or nearby areas, c. 7% (n=13) are North
American migrants, and c. 3% (n=6) are believed to be austral migrants.
Austral is used in the sense of south of Venezuela, not necessarily south of
the equator.

Study site and methods

The 147 ha site of this study was Urbanizacion Los Anaucos which is
30 km south of Caracas, Venezuela, in the state of Miranda at 10°19/N,
66°51'W. This area consists of steep (up to 45% grades) south-facing

B. T. Thomas 10 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

foothills of the Coastal Cordillera that surrounds Caracas. The original
forest was cleared over 400 years ago, resulting in the impoverished and
degraded low deciduous forest of the present. In the early years of this
century the land was part of a large hacienda, and in the 1930s much of it
was cleared for coffee growing with Erythrina poeppigiana trees planted to
shade the coffee. Coffee growing here was not a success, probably because
of insufficient rainfall, and much of the land was allowed to regenerate. By
the mid-1950s most of the study area had been converted to a residential
neighbourhood built on the steep hills surrounding a golf club in the
valley. The houses, and their access of paved streets, were widely separ-
ated. In 1964 a 4-lane limited-access highway cut off the higher-elevation
part of Los Anaucos. This 6-ha forested section at 825-1010 m had a few
lingering coffee shrubs, a closed canopy c. 20 m high of indigenous trees,
and occasional large bamboo clumps. It was not subjected to wildfires.

Most bird observations were made in the lower (550-800 m) area of
141 ha. A seldom-used golf course and soccer field (c. 48 ha) were in the
valley. The area surrounding the valley was intersected by many dry
watercourses and gullies that carried surface water only during heavy
rains. The deciduous vegetation was generally less than 10m high
consisting of native trees and abundant vines with an open understory,
and some large bamboo clumps. In the valley, partly bordered by the golf
course, was the Quebrada Caiza, a small permanent watercourse that
supported a richer and higher native vegetation (trees to 25 m) along its
edge. Extensive secondary grass-covered hillsides surrounded much of
the study area. During the dry season frequent wildfires swept drier areas,
destroying all surface vegetation. In April 1977 such an area was burnt,
and from 1981 to 1984 I studied more intensively the birds of a 13 ha
section of the regenerating habitat where the dominant vegetative species
was mesquite Prosopis juliflora. Opportunistic mist-netting (543 net hr),
mostly to colour-band birds, was done mainly in this 13-ha site from 1976
to 1984. Weights of those birds were reported (Thomas 1982, 1990), and
additional detailed data for two species are in ‘Thomas (1977, 1983).

Ewel & Madriz (1968) list the area as bosque seco premontano transicion,
giving 865 mm average annual rainfall. Rainfall collected in the valley
from June 1982 through May 1984 averaged 678 mm for the two years.
Those may have been drier years than usual or, more likely, because the
Los Anaucos site is in a rain shadow of adjacent higher mountains to the
north. The usual seasonal rainfall pattern was of little precipitation
December through March, the dry season, to heavier rains June to
September, the wet season. The months of April-May and October—
November were variable throughout the years of study. Rains some-
times began in April, and in other years rain continued into November.
This same irregular rainy season was found in the Ilanos of Venezuela
(Thomas 1985). The annual temperature of the valley varied from 14° to
397C*

During the years of this study I lived at two different locations in
the study area and made 348 census counts, generally in the morning
averaging 3h each. These data were supplemented with opportunistic
observations throughout the day and vocalization records in the night. In
addition I visited the study area for five days in February 1987 and three

B.T. Thomas 11 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

days in May 1988. Due to the steep nature of the terrain it was never
possible to survey all the study area ina single day, but an effort was made
to visit most different micro-habitats throughout the year.

Nomenclature and sequence generally follow the AOU Checklist
(1983), with Tyrannidae following Traylor (1977) and Thraupidae
following Isler & Isler (1987).

Discussion and results

The breeding season of most neotropical birds appears to be rainfall
dependent (Friedmann & Smith 1950, 1955, Snow & Snow 1964,
Haverschmidt 1968, ffrench 1973, Thomas 1979). Friedmann & Smith
(1950, 1955) published a detailed account of eight years of observations
and collecting in the Venezuelan states of Anzoategui and Monagas,
an area approximately 300 km southeast of the Los Anaucos site. How-
ever, their area differed from Los Anaucos because the vegetation was
not second growth, and the altitude was lower with higher rainfall.
Approximately 65° of the species in the Appendix are found also on
their list.

Agreeing with Haverschmidt (1975), I did not find Colombina passerina
and C. minuta in the same micro-habitats. C. passerina was found only in
the 13-ha valley wildfire area at 550 m, while C. minuta was found at about
700 m where vegetation was less subject to wildfires. Columbina talpacoti
was sympatric with both smaller doves.

The breeding data in the Appendix agree generally with other long-
term Venezuelan observations (Friedmann & Smith 1950, 1955, Thomas
1979), with the exception of that for Ortalis ruficauda. Friedmann &
Smith list April-June as breeding months. Schafer (1953-1954) said that
it breeds at the same time as in the llanos, May to the end of July. Lapham
(1970) found breeding in the llanos May—June. However, for the ranch
Masaguaral, Estado Guarico, close to Lapham’s study site, I have a
record of a nest with a fresh egg on 16 March 1981 (unpublished).

My Los Anaucos records for Ortalis are all based on observations of
young chicks. On 17 January 1977 I encountered three adults, in thick
high vegetation, leading two stripe-headed downy chicks, of c. 10 cm, that
were unable to fly. On 24 March 1974 I found a downy young bird of
c. 12 cm that could run well on the ground but not fly. Its parents were
carrying banana from my nearby bird feeder to it. By 31 March this same
chick was still covered with rufous body down with strong, dark crown
and nape stripes, but it could fly about 1 m distance, and was brought by
its parents to the bird feeder, where it was fed bananas. On 29 October
1971, near dusk, I found two adults at about 3 m high in a thorny tree
guarding a very young chick. This chick was downy as described above, it
could not fly and it balanced unsteadily in the tree branches.

The hummingbird breeding season is in the dry season at Los Anaucos,
just as Snow & Snow (1964) found in Trinidad, with one exception.
Phaethornis augusti bred in the wet season. Two reasons may account for
this difference. It may need rain to make mud available with which its
pendent nest is balanced (Gilliard 1959), and I believe it is more
insectivorous than other hummingbird species.

B. T. Thomas 12 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

I give breeding data for 90 spp., but Snow & Snow (1964) suggested
that the timing of moult might be an even more precise way of deter-
mining breeding. Therefore, I have included moult data in the Appendix,
for 33 species that I found in remigial or rectricial moult from mist-
netting. This extends the data for seven species for which I lacked more
direct breeding observations.

In the Appendix, an ‘x’ indicates that the bird was observed during the
month; a ‘B’ indicates breeding as determined by nest building, copulation,
a nest with eggs or young, or counted back from observations of adults
feeding recently fledged young; a ‘.’ indicates the species was not observed
in that month in any of the 19 years. A bracket indicates primary or rectri-
cial moult in the months bracketed. Abundant means that the species can
always be found on the study site, common that it is likely to be encoun-
tered on 75% or more of censuses, fairly common on 50% of the censuses,
uncommon on 25%, and occasional on less than 25% of field censuses.
Rare indicates that I found the species less than five times. A few birds were
found only in the higher-elevation forest and they are marked ‘forest’.

Acknowledgements

I wish to thank the Alexander Wetmore Award fund of the American Ornithologists’ Union,
the Smithsonian Institution, and John B. Trent for financial support. Many people have
assisted me in numerous ways over the years. C. T. Collins taught me about mistnetting and
encouraged me in many ways; others who have been generously helpful were A. and K.
Altman, C. Parrish, R. Aveledo, O. Huber, J. Hinshaw, D. Zusi, M. Foster, and the late
P. Schwartz.

References:

American Ornithologists’ Union. 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th ed.
American Ornithologists’ Union.

Ewel, J. J. & Madriz, A. 1968. Zonas de Vida de Venezuela. Ministerio de Agricultura y Cria,
Republica de Venezuela.

ffrench, R. 1973. A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago. Livingston Publishing Co.,
Wynnewood Pa.

Friedmann, H. & Smith, F. D., Jr. 1950. A contribution to the ornithology of northeastern
Venezuela. Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 100: 411-538.

Friedmann, H. & Smith, F. D., Jr. 1955. A further contribution to the ornithology of
northeastern Venezuela. Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 104: 463-524.

Gilliard, E. T. 1959. Notes on some birds in northern Venezuela. Am. Mus. Novit. no. 1927.

Haverschmidt, F. 1968. Birds of Surinam. Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh and London.

Haverschmidt, F. 1975. The Plain-breasted Ground Dove in Surinam. Condor 77: 355-356.

Isler, M. L. & Isler, P. R. 1987. The Tanagers: Natural History, Distribution, and Identifi-
cation. Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington, D.C.

Lapham, H. 1970. A study of the nesting behavior of the Rufous-vented Chachalaca (Ortalis
r. ruficauda) in Venezuela. Bol. Soc. Venez. Cienc. Nat. 28(117/118): 291-329.

Schafer, E. 1953-1954. Estudio bio-ecologico comparativo sobre algunos Cracidae del norte
y centro de Venezuela. Bol. Soc. Venez. Cienc. Nat. 80: 30-63.

Snow, D. W. & Snow, B. K. 1964. Breeding seasons and annual cycles of Trinidad
land-birds. Zoologica 49: 1-39.

Thomas, B. T. 1977. Tropical Screech Owl nest defense behavior and nestling growth rate.
Wilson Bull. 89: 609-612.

Thomas, B. T. 1979. The birds of a ranch in the Venezuelan llanos. Pp. 213-232 in J. F.
Eisenberg (ed.), Vertebrate Ecology of the Northern Neotropics. Smithsonian Press.
Washington, D.C.

Thomas, B. T. 1982. Weights of some Venezuelan birds. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 102: 48-52.

Thomas, B. T. 1983. The Plain-fronted Thornbird: nest construction, material choice and
nest defense behavior. Wilson Bull. 95: 106-117.

Thomas, B. T. 1985. Coexistence and behavior differences among the three western
hemisphere storks. Pp. 921-931 in P. A. Buckley, M. S. Foster, R. S. Ridgely & F.S.

B.T. Thomas 13 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

Buckley (eds), Ornithological Monographs no. 36. American Ornithologists’ Union.
Washington, D.C.
Thomas, B. T. 1990. Additional weights of Venezuelan birds. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 110: 48-51.
Traylor, M. A., Jr. 1977. A classification of the tyrant flycatchers (Tyrannidae). Bull. Mus.
Comp. Zool. 148: 129-184.

Address: Betsy Trent Thomas, Waterfield, Rt. 1, Box 212 C, Castleton, VA 22716, U.S.A.
© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

APPENDIX
Birds recorded at Los Anaucos, Estado Miranda, Venezuela

Family and species JFMAMJJASOND Abundance
PODICIPEDIDAE (1)
Podiceps dominicus Xe Le et eee it Xo eRareseasonalypond
1981
CATHARTIDAE (2)
Cathartes aura Xk GX EX EX EX Gx Xt exdax' ox =x ‘Commoniresident
Coragyps atratus KX xX Xe XX oxy ox, x x Commoniresident
ACCIPITRIDAE (9)
Gampsonyx swainsonit x B B x x Uncommon
Elanoides forficatus Xluaac . Rare vagrant
Leptodon cayanensis SEUNG SEE TEy mC pmeceigS Guy ite a Mot yay] RA Yil
Chondrohierax uncinatus oe a x be IB SB exe oxox = xilRarei Dec 980iand
pair in 1981
Buteo albicaudatus XS EK ox Xxx x yx) e Wncommoni
Buteo platypterus KX Kou i x . x Rare N. Am. migrant
Buteo magnirostris MX Ke x Kx KX & XK ox x x Commoniresident
Buteo nitidus KX KX KX K X &K Xx x x «x Uncommon resident
Spizaetus tyrannus Xi x x Rare vagrant
FALCONIDAE (5)
Herpetotheres cachinnans x x x x . . x x x x x _. Uncommon
Milvago chimachima KS EXS KG) OX EX OKO GX UX EX uxa) XU ex uMainly.commeon
resident
Polyborus plancus XXX Xe We Ko Sle exc oa Occasional,
Falco femoralis Serie Seer acpee Ge omeX x . Rare vagrant; 1979
Falco sparverius Be eXG XoXo AXE excel XG, OCCasional
CRACIDAE (1)
Ortalis ruficauda B BB x x x x x x B x B Abundant resident
PHASIANIDAE (2)
Colinus cristatus xx xs Xx ox x x IBOBIB x x Hairlycommon
resident
Odontophorus columbianus . x . .x .. . . . ... Rare; one 1966 & 1967
RALLIDAE (1)
Aramides cajanea MaKe XK XK KX Xi xX ox MU ncommonsresident
JACANIDAE (1)
Jacana jacana Ce ee ee Sans i eNateiseasonalupond
1981
COLUMBIDAE (7)
Columba cayennensis saw he wen iis, Mike am 95g dl asa IR ESTAR 0 Ue het)
Columbina passerina Bs) exe eX ME EXaneXs) XOX Occasional
Columbina minuta Sem KG XC X oe KRG Sa KGET B x x Uncommon
Columbina talpacoti x (B)B x x x B BB B «x (x)Fairly common
resident
Claravis pretiosa a noe eB) (BE Ixia @ccasionallseasonal
migrant
Scardafella squammata By Xe x SOex xx, xix x x Ub<\|Commoniresident
Leptotila verreauxi ne srg oe 18}. 83) 183 x x x x x Abundant resident

B. T. Thomas 14 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

APPENDIX
Continued

Family and species RIV eARIVin invA Si © mia Abundance

PSITTACIDAE (2)
Aratinga pertinax x x BB x xx x/x /xiipx)x)|Commoniresident
Forpus passerinus XX KX EX eo xeexe xXahlainhviconmmon
CUCULIDAE (8)
Coccyzus americanus Ser euMan Gm oa nestle semti aes vo aera IN[, bon). saaukenezimi
Coccyzus melacoryphus eRe sii le XOX eee Bixee elm @ccasionalaustral
migrant
Coccyzus lansbergi BO Re Paes BXahxs xy, Ixy xd xd @ccasionalmaustral
migrant
Piaya cayana xo x ox xe Bx xi@)iix x ox 2 Fairnlyzcommon
resident
Piaya minuta Rex. et + 2 8 2 Rarewagrantalgos2
Crotophaga ani KX X XX XX /x x x x x x (Commoniresident
Crotophaga sulcirostris Xe TX XK) exe xe x! oo Sx hamnhyicommeon
Tapera naevia xx scx BB Biix, ix) x) ex) x Commoniresident
STRIGIDAE (3)
Otus choliba x BB Bx x x x x x x x Common resident
Glaucidium brasilianum SK ON OXON X KX |x. x x .x//Kairly/common
Rhinoptynx clamator XOX XK OK KK Kx ox ox) xx Commoniresrdent
CAPRIMULGIDAE (2)
Nyctidromus albicollis x x BB BB x x x x x x Commonresident
Caprimulgus rufus SKaMAXGl Xe . Occasional austral
migrant
NYCTIBIIDAE (1)
Nyctibtus griseus x EX. Kx xk ae kK Ix ox) x ox Bairly;common
APODIDAE (2)
Streptoprocne zonaris XW EX ie Mer MCE ae hee Ha neava gira lt
Panyptila cayennensis AVA de ny ate en Oey Nema alae dnineane bea hye ven rtbo tr
TROCHILIDAE (11)
Glauctis hirsuta KUEK pens. aallto.d x x x x Occasional
Phaethornis augusti (x) x B B B BB x B x x x Common resident
Phaethornis longuemareus x x i Sra gertumid Seezb e
Colibri coruscans Dg a ayes CAAT CANTO COE RAG AA ANN ape eH ee
Anthracothorax nigricollis . x x : Xone NALS
Klais guimeti BUA OROXS x A x . Rare
Chlorostilbon mellisugus (B x) x x x x x 1B) B.x’ BB. Commoniresident
Amazilia fimbriata Kx x ox x xix) x BicB) x x) Commoniresident
Amazilia tobaci (GR) Balexaiix ‘ x x x Occasional seasonal
migrant
Amazilia tzacaitl x A . Rare; 1977 & 1980
Chalybura buffonii IK OX. x x Occasional
TROGONIDAE (1)
Trogon collaris Buy eal al kegn a Mibintbaec ol) Inertia. o Wocdner 197
BUCCONIDAE (1)
Hypnelus ruficollis XK XK EX KAI EX. xX Xx xx (xc Marrhyacomma;n
resident
GALBULIDAE (1)
Galbula ruficauda x BB BB x x x (x) x x x Common resident
PICIDAE (6)
Picumnus squamulatus x x B x x x B x B B B x Common resident
Chrysoptilus punctigula x XI BE Bie i. Ween exiiexd | xXGlneaexes On common
Piculus rubiginosus . B ‘ . . . Rare vagrant, forest
Dryocopus lineatus XU OXGEEX x XonOXo XGeuuexe Occasional
Melanerpes rubricapillus x Jo) B) Bi Bex yolk) aa ixtiexy ex Commonimesident
Veniliornis kirkii Bx? B) Bix x x x x x x Uncommon resident

B. T. Thomas 15 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)
APPENDIX
Continued
Family and species i Bi Ae Ni ar yy) At SOND Abundance
FURNARIIDAE (6)
Synallaxts albescens x B x B x B B B x x x x Commonresident
Synallaxis cinnamomea Bsns: cuca eh eel (eames © Un x . Rare
Cranioleuca subcristata KE ES ae es eK exc ES GMa eX . Occasional
Phacellodomus rufifrons (x x) x x x B B B B x x (x)Common resident
Syndactyla guttulata LONE, OK . Rare
Xenops minutus xk . Rare; only 1988
DENDROCOLAPTIDAE (6)
Dendrocincla fuliginosa Xb) XG) Maerker elle x . Uncommon
Sittasomus griseicapillus x= xx B) Bx x ox xox) x x Uncommon.resident
Xiphocolaptes
promeropirhynchus Bh eps ten AKO 5 ign alRents
Xiphorhynchus guttatus Xe Kee EX ; x x. Occasional
Lepidocolaptes souleyetii Kul RpXG a FXO MIEXO DX B x (x) x . Uncommon resident
Campylorhamphus
trochiltrostris XK oy KX Xe OXY XG Xa) exabiainly Common
resident
FORMICARITDAE (7)
Taraba major SOuEX xe EXeuexe xe pxe) (Biixel (x) xa xulairly;common:
resident
Thamnopilus doliatus («&) x x x) BB (&) x) x (x! x ||x\Common'resident
Herpsilochmus
rufimarginatus ee ae bats Tm ane ‘ . Rare
Formicivora grisea Ke x XK KM KX K K x(x) xX x Commoniresident
Drymophila caudata Sex Ge Xo Dae ee ne OCCasional
Myrmeciza longipes x x x x B Box: x (@) xx) Hairlycommon
resident
Grallaricula
ferrugineipectus XO Xt ak x Rare
TYRANNIDAE (26)
Zimmertius vilissimus Keep nee TARO Me ye : . Rare
Camptostoma obsoletum Keke oc Bax x x x xx x Commoniresident
Phaeomyias murina Key XX Ke Xe EXE Xe XG xe 3 Mainly.common
resident
Sublegatus arenarum Xe ice x x x x. Occasional
Mytopagis gaimardi xq cy Lass yee Jee Zoe wane
Myiopagis viridicata Be Xai Xe Xl XG (XOu Xa XG oy (Ge Xd) XCM COMMON
Elaenia flavogaster 1 (CG) PX Xe XKG peXQUKuEXA XG xo) xe Commonaesident
Elaenia parvirostris : SKC Xa XGRMEAIOX . Uncommon austral
migrant
Euscarthmus meloryphus Xo xe exe XB) BE x xaxye xs) (x) xsi Commoniresident
Mionectus olivaceus Kien OXI | ce Tee Ex ane
Leptopogon superciliaris <0 Ba Baby Beex> oer x x . Fairly common
Phylloscartes flaveola KoeXan XG XE XCEXS | OXQUEXGIN XGuEX@NE Xan Xo COmmonbresident
Atalotriccus pilaris xox) (BSB exe exe) xg xn xs) Commoniresident
Todirostrum cinereum x x x B B B B B x (x x) x Common resident
Tolmomyias flaviventris Pe poe ee eX OR LN) Cai aoe are
Myiophobus fasciatus x B B B B B(B x x) x x x Common resident
Contopus cinereus Xe Kah ; Bei: . Rare
Contopus fumigatus Ce like) Sexe Urge. hea Xatare ue WR ALEULOTESE
Cnemotriccus fuscatus Ko Xp Xe XK BP Xe xa (xy x)) x) ox Mainly;common
resident
Mytarchus tyrannulus x BB BBB x x x x x x Common resident
Pitangus sulphuratus x B B BOB Bx x (x) x x x Abundant
Megarhynchus pitangua Xa eXaIeX. OB lexi xn oxcicxa Uncommon

B. T. Thomas

Family and species

Myiozetetes cayanensis
Myiozetetes similis
Myiodynastes maculatus
Tyrannus melancholicus

COTINGIDAE (3)
Pachyramphus rufus
Pachyramphus castaneus
Pachyramphus

polychopterus

PIPRIDAE (1)

Chiroxiphia lanceolata

HIRUNDINIDAE (3)
Notiochelidon cyanoleuca
Stelgidopteryx ruficollis
Hirundo rustica

TROGLODYTIDAE (4)
Campylorhynchus nuchalis

Thryothorus genibarbis

Thryothorus rutilus
Troglodytes aedon
MUSCICAPIDAE (8)
Ramphocaenus melanurus
Polioptila plumbea
Catharus auranturostris
Catharus fuscescens
Catharus minimus
Turdus leucomelas
Turdus fumigatus
Turdus nudigenis
MIMIDAE (1)
Mimus gilvus
VIREONIDAE (5)
Cyclarhis gujanensis
Vireo olivaceus
Vireo gilvus
Hylophilus aurantiufrons

HAylophilus flavipes
EMBERIZIDAE (53)
Vermivora peregrina
Parula pitiayumi
Dendroica petechia
Dendroica striata
Setophaga ruticilla

Seiurus noveboracensis
Geothlypis aequinoctialis
Oporornis agilis
Myioborus miniatus
Basileuterus culicivorus
Basileuterus flaveolus

*

a

*

~ oO

a

M

16
APPENDIX
Continued
AM J J
Xe ber ay x
BBB x
xa anes
ya DG gui be
KG EXON

x xX
x BB x
Bi ixc hie Ox
Bye pre inore
XS OX EX:
BABE x.
x BBB
XUUXGNEXS LIS
XG XAOS
BM BiniBivex
Sel ce ela
Oui
BBB x
x BBB
Bexdexe x.
XA Ms eax.
Ke /eX
x x x
XK OK aK
x
x
xa
4
xX xX
asa ;
x1 x X
x
ye ag

x x

*

looks

ra

a

(x

mm mK

x)

Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

D Abundance

Occasional

Occasional

. Rare vagrant

x Fairly common
resident

Me

x Fairly common
. Rare; 1970 & 1977

. Rare

x Fairly common
resident

x Occasional
x Occasional
x Rare N. Am. migrant

x Fairly common
resident

x Fairly common
resident

x Common resident

x Common resident

. Occasional

x Abundant resident

. Occasional, resident
. Rare N. Am. migrant
. Rare N. Am. migrant
x Common resident

. Rare, forest

x Common resident

B Common resident

x Common resident

. Occasional

. Rare

x Fairly common
resident

. Uncommon

. Rare N. Am. migrant

. Uncommon

. Rare N. Am. migrant

. Rare N. Am. migrant

x Occasional N. Am.
migrant

. Rare N. Am. migrant

x Occasional

. Rare N. Am. migrant

. Rare, forest

x Occasional

x Rare

B. T. Thomas 17 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)
APPENDIX
Continued
Family and species Je ReMVAGM ea J) Ay sy) OnINn DD Abundance
Coereba flaveola B B B BB x B B B x x B Abundant resident
Thlypopsis fulviceps x. (BWexoexe x2 Sad ixeexe ox xe xs Occasionals resident
Rhodinocichla rosea KA Xe Xe X Xo Xa Xp | Xo, xox /xebairly common
Tachyphonus rufus x x x x B B B B(x x x) x Abundant resident
Piranga rubra exe ee ea oe) Xiex gare Ne Amemuicrant
Ramphocelus carbo x ox ix x! ix = B) Box’ x’ x’ x.\Common resident
Thraupis episcopus x x x B B B BBB x x x Common resident
Thraupis sayaca B B Xa (OX) eo: . _. Occasional
Thraupis palmarum Pinas cass XOXO: x . Uncommon
Euphonia trinitatis Xl Xe OES) Xn SEX Xone Re eee Xe ON COMMON
Euphonia laniurostris x x BBB x BB x x x x Fairlycommon
resident
Euphonia xanthogaster x Mere gy: 3 . . . Rare; 1968 only
Tangara guttata BX UX GU Xl ats KG aXXo Me IN COMINOn
Tangara cayana x x x BB x B(x) x x (B) x Fairly common
Tangara cyanoptera Xd MEXG EX: XX: B x _. Uncommon resident
Cyanerpes caeruleus 53 We x x. Rare, forest
Tersina viridis xB x . Uncommon austral
migrant
Saltator coerulescens (x) x B x B B B (x B) x x x Common resident
Saltator albicollis KX eX) eX Gx a xtpxd tla x xh xuMarnly;common
resident
Pheucticus ludovicianus neo sr SOR Seay ea pip . Rare N. Am. migrant
Cyanocompsa brissonii x) os. Bex \ BBY ox exe oxox x xilairky;common
resident
Coryphospingus pileatus xx xy x x xeBe xxx x) xe Uncommon
Atlapetes semirufus Ef Pb SONATE IXG PS PDX : aor eURare
Arremon schegeli Ga)IBxe Oxo EXE XX ye eX XX ©)CCasional:
Arremonops conirostris x x x B B B B B B (x x) x Common resident
Volatiniajacarina se ag xo xeoB BB Bix sds Uncommon
Sporophila intermedia xix) ox XW ixehx, (xtxe By ox tix: GxiRairlyicommon
Sporophila bouvronides XA EXPOKT TX . Occasional austral
migrant
Sporophila nigricollis KA ISKT Gee EX x x B B B x x Fairly common
Sporophila obscura (x:) ; 4 t . Rare
Sporophila minuta Xe RE KS | EXA EXO OK: x xii, . Occasional
Oryzoborus angolensis ; x . Rare
Tiaris bicolor SSE way dee Aa Coley cepeENaLe
Sicalis flaveola KOR Xe XGEEXG CP eXGmeXG dia). xn iexa Uncommon
Quiscalus lugubris Ker KmeKG Xo Xe CIDE XT ME Xee Pe Uncommon
Molothrus bonariensis x x x x B BB x x x x x Common resident
Icterus auricapillus KO EXPICX XG KU EX B B B x B Fairly common
resident
Icterus icterus sR Ohad cia SOEX UR eEy AU . Rare
Icterus nigrogularis AXES 0 OX x B x x x x x Common resident
Cacicus cela Xie Xe XaEEXeY ee PL te Bt xet tO ceasional
Psarocolius decumanus Xo Kg Xu eXoa Xe xo Bx eexun xe poxg OM common
Gymnomystax mexicanus x x x xXx x x x x x B x (x)Common resident
FRINGILLIDAE (1)
Carduelis psaltria (6) xe XAG xa ex x x B x x Occasional

P. A. Clancey 18 Bull. B.O.C, 1993 113(1)

‘The status of the Cisticola aberrans subspecies

C.a.nytka Lynes, 1930

by P. A. Clancey
Received 23 March 1992

In proposing Cisticola aberrans nyika from the Nyika Plateau of north-
western Malawi/adjacent north-eastern Zambia, Lynes (1930) demon-
strated that the populations of the Lazy or Rock Cisticola Cisticola
aberrans (Smith), 1843 north of the arid mid-Limpoporiver valley differed
significantly from those occurring to the south of it in having a terminally
patterned rather than plain tail. In Clancey (1989) it was suggested that
the difference in the tails between the two groups of populations might,
after further research, be found to warrant a further breakdown of the
C. aberrans superspecies by the recognition of nyzka as an allospecies
discrete from the other two currently admitted: C. aberrans subspp. and
C. emini subspp. (which includes C. e. lurio Vincent, 1933); see Sibley &
Monroe (1990). Conclusions reached on this issue resulting from recent
study of material are present below.

In Hall & Moreau (1970) the range of C. a. nytka is shown as terminat-
ing, in association with the Miombo woodland savanna, well to the north
of the Limpopo valley and the border between the Transvaal and
Zimbabwe. The more extensive material now available since Lynes’
Cisticola Review of 1930 reveals that a subterminally spotted tail-
character—the diagnostic criterion of nyika—is not lost to the north of the
Limpopo, but persists in the population to the immediate south of the
mid-Limpopo valley in the Soutpansberg Range of the northern
Transvaal, including the western outlier of the Blouberg at c. 23°S. It
fades out immediately further south on the Transvaal plateau, but, inter-
estingly, is adumbrated in some specimens of C. a. minor examined from
the Lebombo Mountains of northeastern Zululand, eastern Transvaal,
Swaziland and adjacent southern Mozambique. Smithers et al. (1957)
record that in a sample of four specimens from the Matopos Hills of
southwestern Zimbabwe, on the arid periphery of the species’ range in
this sector, three lacked tail-spots, while the fourth had a spotted tail as in
the norm of C. a. nytka. In a larger sample of seven Matopos Hills C.
aberrans in the collection of the Durban Natural Science Museum all have
spotted tails. All that can be deduced from the specimen evidence is that
the transition from having a spotted to a plain tail is not as sharply
delineated as first believed, but is widely and irregularly disposed
between c. 20°30’ and 23°S.

‘Turning to the mensural variation found in the same group of popu-
lations, reference to Table 1 will show that the birds present north of the
arid mid-Limpopo (C. a. nyika (a)) have in the male a mean wing-length
of 55.2, versus 57.4, and a mean tail-length of 59.7, versus 65.2 mm in
C. a. aberrans of the Transvaal plateau to the south of the Brachystegia
(Miombo) woodland savanna. In females in non-breeding dress, the
mean wing-length of nyzka (a) is 49.2, against 51.9, and tail-length 53.0 as

P. A. Clancey 19 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

TABLE 1
Wing- and non-breeding tail-lengths (mm) of subspecies of Cisticola aberrans

Subspecies Wing Tail (non-breeding)
(south to north) n mean and range n mean and range

66 21 51.07,s.d.1.44 (49-54) 12 65.1,s.d.2.95 (60—70.5)
O29 ~=11 46.18, s.d.0.90 (44.5-47) 9 55.3,s.d. 2.65 (50.5—-58)
3
2

C. a. minor

12 57.4,s.d.2.17 (54.5-61) 12 65.2,s.d.2.07 (63-69)
1351.9, sid.:2.45. (49-55) 7 61.7, s.d. 2.15 (60-65)

C. a. aberrans

C. a. nyika (a) OGu, 14 S522 sd G1ROSIO2 96.5 )ig lao S97 s.d. 2.54;(95—63)
south of 16°S 0) 7 49.2, s.d. 0.80 (48-50) 3 53.0 (52-54)

C. a. nytka (b) Gown | LO 5925s !di1'545(5729-62)): 10! 62) 7 vsid2257 1.59675)
north of 16°S Oo Shs O35 s-d. 0.99)(S05 93). 8) 1,00. 05)s:ds2'82)(52—59)

Note: Males of C. a. minor are longer winged and tailed than females and both acquire
shorter tails prior to breeding (from late September); nominate aberrans is longer winged
but not longer tailed than minor, except in the female which alone acquires a short nuptial
tail. In contrast with these austral forms, nyika (a) approximates to nominate aberrans in
wing-length, but has the tail terminally patterned and shorter in both sexes; again only the
female moults in a short nuptial tail. Compared with the last, C.a. nyika (b) has a longer
wing, the mean difference 4.3, whereas the tail is only moderately longer (mean 3.0 mm in
both sexes). Males of nyzka (b) range largest of all in the allospecies C. aberrans.

opposed to 61.7 mm. The size-differences exhibited by the birds on the
two sides of the Limpopo valley are quite sharply defined, particularly in
females, in which tail-lengths of C. a. nyika in toto measure 52-59 as
opposed to 60-65 mm in nominate aberrans of the Transvaal plateau. It
will also be appreciated that nyzka itself encompasses a measure of clinal
variation, being larger north of c. 16°S in association with the western Rift
highlands of Malawi, declining relatively steeply southwards to 20°30'S.
To the south of this, in correlation with a shift in the environment, size
increases appreciably (in C. a. aberrans) to decline again in the southern
terminal humid lowlands populations resident from the eastern Cape and
Transkei and Natal and Zululand to the Lebombo Mountains (< 610m).
The assumption of a partial breeding dress, which may affect both sexes,
as in C. a. minor, or the female only in both nominate aberrans and
C. a. nyika, may be associated in part with the variation in overall size (see
Table 1 and comments thereto).

As shown above, the patterned versus unpatterned tail-character does
not substantiate the viewing of the populations of C. aberrans to the north
and south of the Limpopo valley as belonging to two allospecies of the
C. aberrans superspecies. A comparable conclusion was arrived at in
respect of the abruptly stepped transition in the case of wing- and tail-
lengths differentiating C. a. aberrans and C. a. nyika, which is closely
associated with the faunal barrier presented by the arid Limpopo, but is
clearly of no more than subspecific significance. The bridging of the
Limpopo valley by the tail-character and the subspecific rating of
the size-differences confirm that C. a. nyika should remain part of the C.
aberrans allospecies. Of biogeographical significance is that nyzka lies ina

P. A. Clancey 20 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

somewhat comparable state, but in this instance parapatrically, with lurio
along the Rift of southern Malawi, which latter is a subspecies of the
C. emini allospecies of Sibley & Monroe.

Two other taxonomic issues affecting C. aberrans may be dealt with in
the course of this contribution. Firstly Traylor and other authors, follow-
ing Lynes (1930), give the type-locality of C. a. nyikaas the Nyika Plateau
at c. 457 m (1500 ft) a.s.l. The type-specimen, however, seemingly came
from the Miombo woodland apron at the level of the continental plateau
at this point and not the plateau of the massif as such, which latter lies
between 1737 and 2440 m. Benson et al. (1971), in their Zambian work,
list only C. njombe from the Nyika massif, which is stated as occurring
from 6300 ft (to 8000 ft (2438 m) in the eastern Malawi sector of the same
montane area). C. a. nytka is not mentioned as occurring even at the base
of the Nyika, but is listed from the Mafinga Mts, Mt Sunzu, the
Muchinga Escarpment and elsewhere in eastern Zambia, and, of course,
occurs at points in montane western Malawi. The type-locality should,
therefore, be given as the Nyika massif at 457m a.s.l., northwestern
Malawi.

The higher altitudes of the Nyika are occupied by the sibling species
C. niombe, described by Lynes in 1933 from near Njombe, southern
Tanzania, at c. 1981 m, a denizen of bracken stands, and by Cisticola lais
semifasciata Reichenow, 1905: Mlanje (=Lichenya Plateau), southern
Malawi, and not by C. a. nyzka. The altitudinally stratified ranges of these
small cisticoline warblers are seemingly concordant with those of certain
Anthus spp. occurring in the same general area of Africa.

The second issue to be dealt with stems from the finding of elements of
three races of the Lazy Cisticola in the Transvaal (nominate aberrans,
minor and nyika), which necessitates the fixing of a definite type-locality
for nominate aberrans, currently standing as simply “interior S.Afr.”’ (see
Traylor 1986). As Dr Andrew Smith, the original collector and describer,
operated mainly in the Marico district of the southwestern Transvaal
during the course of his exploratory sojourn of the mid-1830s, I propose
to restrict the type-locality of Drymoica aberrans Smith, 1843 to the
Marico district, southwestern Transvaal, as being in accord with the
known history of both the discovery and naming of this species.

Acknowledgements

For the loan of material to supplement that held in Durban I am indebted to the Directors of
the East London and Transvaal Museum, Pretoria. Mr P. R. Colston, British Museum
(Nat. Hist.), Tring, also assisted by measuring the entire Tring series of C. aberrans, sens.
strict., and answered enquiries in connection with his findings. To all concerned I extend my
thanks.

References:

Benson, C. W., Brooke, R. K., Dowsett, R. J. & Irwin, M. P. 1971. The Birds of Zambia.
Collins.

Clancey, P. A. 1989. Four additional species of southern African endemic birds. Durban
Mus. Novit. 14: 140-152.

Hall, B. P. & Moreau, R. E. 1970. An Atlas of Speciation in African Passerine Birds. British
Museum (Nat. Hist.).

Lynes, H. 1930. Review of the genus Cisticola, Ibis (12)6, Supplement.

sated C. G. & Monroe, B. L. 1990. Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World. Yale

niv. Press.

K.C. Parkes & R. K. Panza 21 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

Smithers, R. H. N., Irwin, M. P. S. & Paterson, M. L. 1957. A Check List of Birds of
Southern Rhodesia. Rhodesian Ornithological Society, Salisbury.

Traylor, M. A. 1986. African Sylviidae in Peters’ Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 11.
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard.

Address: Dr P. A. Clancey, Research Associate, Durban Natural Science Museum, P.O.
Box 4085, Durban 4000, South Africa.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

A new Amazonian subspecies of the
Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher Myiobius

( Terenotriccus ) erythrurus

by Kenneth C. Parkes & Robin K. Panza
Received 8 February 1992

The Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher Myziobius erythrurus is a tiny (wing
c. 48-53 mm) tyrannid with a wide range in the Neotropics from southern
Mexico to Peru and Brazil. In most of the literature this species 1s placed
in the monotypic genus Terenotriccus, but Lanyon (1988) presented con-
vincing evidence that this genus should be recombined with Myiobius
(from which it had originally been split), and this treatment was followed
in the world list of Sibley & Monroe (1990).

Carnegie Museum of Natural History holds a series of this species from
the middle Rio Purus, Brazil. The ranges of subspecies given by Traylor
(1979) omit this area. That of M. e. amazonus Zimmer is given as along the
south bank of the Amazon itself, from the left bank of the Rio Purus east to
the right bank of the Rio Tapajos. Traylor mentioned that amazonus
ascends the Rio Madeira as far as the mouth of the Rio Jiparana, but said
nothing about the Rio Purus beyond its mouth on the Amazon, in spite of
the fact that Gyldenstolpe (1951) had reported two specimens from
Labrea, at about the same latitude on the Purus as the Jiparana lies on the
Madeira. Gyldenstolpe was unable to assign a subspecific name to his
specimens, but his comparisons with 5 specimens of M. e. amazonus and 6
of M. e. brunneifrons Hellmayr, a race that occurs on the Rio Jurua some
600 km W of Labrea, make it obvious that his birds match those in the
Carnegie series from localities on the Purus about 300 km downstream
and about 130 km upstream from Labrea, respectively. The full range of
brunneifrons, as given by Traylor (1979), is ‘‘eastern Peru south of the
Maranon, southwestern Brazil on upper Rio Jurua and possibly southeast
to upper Rio Roosevelt, and northwestern Bolivia’; if accurate, this
means that the range of brunnezfrons forms a large arc to the west and south
of the Rio Purus.

As Gyldenstolpe suggested tentatively, the Rio Purus specimens
cannot be assigned to any presently recognized subspecies. Although the
Rio Purus population is almost encircled by M. e. brunneifrons and

K.C. Parkes & R. K. Panza 22 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

M. e. amazonus, it is by no means intermediate between these two
subspecies, and merits a name of its own. It may be called

Myiobius erythrurus purusianus subsp. nov.

Holotype. Carnegie Museum of Natural History 86534, adult male
collected at ‘‘Hyutanahan”’ (= Huitanaa, 7°40'S, 65°46’W, of Paynter &
Traylor 1991), middle Rio Purus, Amazonas, Brazil, by S. M. Klages on
20 Dec 1921. Field Number 27933.

Diagnosis. Differs from brunneifrons Hellmayr, the next race to the west
and south, in having the crown and forehead concolorous rather than
having the forehead brighter and more rufescent; dorsum less olivaceous,
with more of an orange tint, the rump being especially brighter; edges
of remiges and wing coverts decidedly paler, less rufous, more buffy;
rectrices paler at the base rather than uniformly rufous for their full
length; underparts decidedly paler, with less of a concentration of pig-
ment forming an incipient breast band. Differs from amazonus Zimmer,
the next race to the north and east, in having the back brighter, less
olivaceous; the rump much brighter, and the mantle and crown essen-
tially concolorous—in amazonus the crown is more leaden in colour than
the back; edges of remiges and wing coverts contrast more with the
centres of the feathers; underparts slightly paler in general, with chin and
throat tending toward white.

Distribution. Known from three localities on the middle Rio Purus,
Amazonas, Brazil; from north to south (upstream), Arima, Labrea, and
Huitanaa.

Notes on other subspecies. Carnegie Museum of Natural History has a
specimen of M. e. signatus Zimmer, previously known from southeastern
Colombia, eastern Ecuador, and northeastern Peru, that extends the
range of this subspecies into Brazil. It was taken by Klages at Tonantins,
on the Rio Solimoes, about 400 km downstream (about 300 air km NE) of
the joint Colombia-Peru-Brazil border.

The Carnegie specimens of M. e. brunneifrons, which were listed by
Remsen et al. (1987) as two of the first four specimens from the Depart-
ment of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, appear to be the easternmost specimens of
that race. They were listed as being from Buena Vista; more precisely,
they were collected by Steinbach at nearby Rio Yapacani.

Specimens examined. M. e. brunneifrons: BOLIVIA, Dept. Santa Cruz,
Rio Yapacani, 2. M. e. signatus: BRAZIL, Est. Amazonas, Tonantins, 1.
M. e. purusianus: BRAZIL, Est. Amazonas, Huitanaa, 11; Arima, 6.
M. e. amazonus: BRAZIL, Est. Para, Vila Braga, 7; Apacy, 3.

References:

Gyldenstolpe, N. 1951. The ornithology of the Rio Purus region in Western Brazil. Ark. for
Zool. 2: 1-320.

Lanyon, W. E. 1988. The phylogenetic affinities of the flycatcher genera Myiobius Darwin
and Terenotriccus Ridgway. Am. Mus. Novit. no. 2915.

Paynter, R. A., Jr. & Traylor, M. A., Jr. 1991. Ornithological Gazetteer of Brazil. Museum
of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, MA. i

Remsen, J. V., Jr., Traylor, M. A., Jr. & Parkes, K. C. 1987. Range extensions for some
Bolivian birds, 3 (Tyrannidae to Passeridae). Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 107: 6-16.

Sibley, C. G. & Monroe, B. L., Jr. 1990. Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World.
Yale Univ. Press, New Haven, CT.

E.O. Willis & Y. Ontki 23 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

Traylor, M. A., Jr. 1979. Subfamily Fluvicolinae. Pp. 112-186 in M. A. Traylor, Jr. (ed.),
Check-list of Birds of the World, vol. 8. Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge,
MA.

Address: Kenneth C. Parkes & Robin K. Panza, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, 4400
Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15213, U.S.A.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

New and reconfirmed birds from the state of
Sao Paulo, Brazil, with notes on disappearing
species

by Edwin O. Willis GS Yoshika Ontki

Received 25 February 1992

In 1985, we reported on new specimens of birds from the state of Sao
Paulo in southeastern Brazil. Our field studies since 1975 have discovered
26 species new for the state. Three have been since confirmed by speci-
mens, and all have been reported from nearby states. Two other species
were discovered by colleagues, another by a student, a fourth by a visitor,
and reconfirmed by Willis. Several other new species, not noted here, are
to be reported by D. F. Stotz and P. Martuscelli (pers. comm.). A further
supposed ‘species’ has been seen, but we think it a hybrid. Here we report
on our new birds and other species reconfirmed for the state, as well as on
species that seem to be disappearing.

New species

SOUTHERN POCHARD WNetta erythrophthalma

A pair in a shallow pond (20°39’S, 48°04’W) in sugar cane fields along-
side Mata Chita, Morro Agudo, on 6—7 March 1984, was the first state
record (Willis 1992). Alvarenga (1990) later collected a specimen from the
Paraiba River Valley, and the bird has been seen since August 1987 at the
Tieté Ecological Park in the city of Sao Paulo, where it is present mainly
in winter (D. F. Stotz pers. comm.). Invading eutrophic sunny runoff
ponds from the north with deforestation.

GREY HAWK Buteo nitidus

One screamed at Willis on 4 March 1984 at isolated Mata Taboao
(20°46'S, 47°48’W), east of Sales Oliveira, and a pair did so by an isolated
patch of woods (19°56’S, 49°32’W) just west of the main woodlot of the
Paulo de Faria State Reserve on 14 October 1987. The species may be
invading the state at man-made forest edges, or may have been present at
natural edges of these northwestern deciduous woodlands.

CHIMANGO CARACARA Milvago chimango

Willis and students saw one on the dunes near the northeast end of Ilha
Comprida (24°41'S, 47°26’W) on 8 November 1986. Willis saw individ-
uals on the beach a few kilometres southwest, 5 July 1989 and 16 June

E. O. Willis & Y. Ontki 24 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

1990. The species seems to be spreading northeast along the beaches of
southeastern Brazil, due partly to clearing for vacation homes, mainly asa
winter visitor.

AZURE GALLINULE Porphyrula flavirostris

Willis saw one early on the morning of 1 January 1987, at the edge of a
varzea (seasonally flooded vegetation) pond near the Parana River at
soon-to-be-flooded Lagoa Sao Paulo (21°40’S, 52°02’W). It climbed on
grass stalks to bend them to the water and eat seeds. Probably regular in
summer in marshes of the west, but likely to disappear as the rivers
become reservoirs.

TWO-BANDED PLOVER Charadrius falklandicus

We found two separate individuals by the ocean on beaches of Ilha
Comprida, 7 July 1983, well southwest of the first W/. chimango record.
The species may be regular as a midwinter visitor, but we have not seen it
on a few such visits since 1983. Humans swarm to Sao Paulo beaches,
drastically limiting shorebirds, and the process is starting on Ilha
Comprida with plans for a bridge at its northeast end.

WHIMBREL Numenius phaeopus
One on the semi-open storm-cleared zone at the northeast tip of Ilha

Comprida, 16 June 1990 (Willis).

RED-BELLIED MACAW Ara manilata

A bird of buriti (Mauritia sp.) groves south to Minas Gerais, found by
Willis in the disappearing buriti gallery woods of northern Sao Paulo in
1987 (10 September, pair visiting cavity in broken buriti stub near the
busy highway at 20°13’S, 47°50’W, Buritizal township; also 20°14'S,
47°42’W near town and maximum of seven at the Boca do rio das Pedras,

20°11’'S, 47°53’W, on 29 October).

LEAST NIGHTHAWK Chordeiles pusillus

Dickerman (1988) incorrectly reported the Least Nighthawk from Sao
Paulo, thinking Natterer’s ‘‘Nos Puritis’”’ (Buritis) to be in Sao Paulo
when it is in Goias. It does occur south to northern Sao Paulo, however, as
Willis found several at the Fazenda Ribeirao do Cervo (21°8'S, 47°21’W)
10 March 1984. Later he found it at Pedregulho (20°15’S, 47°27’'W) and
Rifaina (20°6'S, 47°24’W) as well as just west of the Ilha Solteira dam in
Mato Grosso do Sul (Fazenda UNESP, 20°23’S, 51°23’W).

FORK-TAILED PALM-SWIFT TJ achornis squamatus

We found Fork-tailed Palm-swifts in royal palms of the central plaza in
Batatais (20°51'S, 47°35’W), 1 April 1983. They are regular in buriti and
other palm groves of the north, from near Morro Agudo (20°39’S,
48°4'W) to Rifaina, and occur in buritis near Selviria, Mato Grosso do Sul
(20°28'S, 51°30’W).

LONG-BILLED STARTHROAT Heliomaster longirostris

We saw a female visiting Hibiscus sp. on 9 September 1981 at our home
in Barao Geraldo, just north of Campinas at 22°50’S, 47°05’W. We do not
know the basis for Meyer de Schauensee’s (1970: 160) report or for that of
Ruschi (1965) for H. furcatus. Either could wander southeast into the
state, especially with forest destruction.

E.O. Willis & Y. Oniki 25 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

SPOT-BACKED PUFFBIRD Bucco maculatus

Willis found a pair in a patch of cerrado (savanna woodland) at km 69
(20°48'S, 47°44'W) east of Sales Oliveira on 5 March 1984, plus others in
remnant dense cerrados near Pedregulho, Rifaina, Buritizal and Jeriquara
in the same north-central region. At sunrise and sunset, they sing every-
where in such patches, rapidly being cleared because everybody mistakes
natural savannas for worthless second-growth “‘scrub”’ while scientists
say little to correct them.

ITATIAIA SPINETAIL Oreophylax moreirae

The serra de Queluz extends to above 2700 m southwest from Itatiaia
as one of the wildest regions of Sao Paulo. On 18 April 1987, it took Willis
a 16-hour hike (including return) to see this spinetail on the Sao Paulo
side of Pico dos Trés Estados at 2400 m (22°24’S, 44°48’W). Common in
bushes above timberline and 2200 m all along the spectacular route there,
on the border of Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro.

CHOTOY SPINETAIL Synallaxis phryganophila

Willis found a Chotoy Spinetail in bushes of a pasture of Fazenda
Promissao, 11 km south of Nova Independéncia, north bank of the
Aguapei River (21°09’S, 51°35’W), on 4 January 1985. Probably invading
the west of the state with forest cutting, but many of these pantanal birds
may always have lived along the Parana River.

CINEREOUS-BREASTED SPINETAIL Synallaxis hypospodia

Willis found one on 1 January 1985 in bushy pastures (21°00'S,
50°28’W) of Fazenda Macaubas, near Santo Antonio de Aracangua, and
later others in similar bushy pastures at Lagoa Sao Paulo, 1 January
1987. Another scrubland and river-scrub species, recently found in
northwestern Parana State (F. Straube, I Brazilian Ornithol. Congress,

Belem, July 1991).

RUFOUS-FRONTED THORNBIRD Phacellodomus rufifrons

Oniki spotted the first nests for the state on 1 April 1983 in a pasture
tree of Fazenda Recanto da Mata (20°43’S, 47°31'W) by the highway just
north of the Rio Sapucai, and Willis soon found the birds in nearby scrub.
On 9 March 1984 there was a nest just south of Altinopolis, in a pasture
tree (21°03’'S, 47°25’W) where there was no nest in 1983. Apparently
spreading southwest with deforestation.

YELLOW-BREASTED FLYCATCHER Tolmomyias flaviventris

Willis found one in semi-open trees over cacao at Fazenda Capricornio
(23°23’'S, 45°05’W), near Ubatuba, 11 August 1986 but not on other
visits. Probably a winter wanderer from semi-deforested zones northeast
in Rio de Janeiro, and may become established as northeastern Sao Paulo
forests are cut for beach development.

LESSER KISKADEE Pitangus lictor

The characteristic dree, dear-ur call near an old oxbow (21°37'S,
47°49'W) of the Mogi-Guacu River in the Luiz Antonio Experiment
Station, 30 December 1982, presaged a rash of records by Willis at similar
lagoons in the west and centre of the state: Teodoro Sampaio State
Reserve (near Parana); south of Lins on the Rio Feio (21°45’S, 49°50’W),

E.O. Willis & Y. Ontki 26 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

Fazenda Anhangai (20°53’'S, 50°41’W), even a wanderer eating semi-
frozen dragonflies atop twigs early 31 May 1984 at the Broa Reservoir
(22°12'S, 47°52’W). Probably always present on western rivers, as
recently reported from Argentina.

RUSTY-MARGINED FLYCATCHER Myiozetetes cayanensis

Willis found several pairs in the semi-wooded former “mini-pantanal’
of the lower Tieté River (20°54’S, 50°40’W), Fazenda Aracangua,
24 April 1984 and later further down on Fazenda Sao Rafael (20°52’S,
50°57'W) in the north of the township of Mirandopolis. All sites are now
under water of the Tres Irmaos Reservoir, but the species likely persists
and was present long before man along water edges throughout the region.

PURPLISH JAY Cyanocorax cyanomelas

A Mato Grosso bird spreading east with deforestation; Willis saw one
wanderer fly from isolated trees to the main woodlot of Mata Chita,
Morro Agudo, on 9 September 1987. One would think of an escaped
captive bird, but Paroaria wander even further southeast.

VEERY Catharus fuscescens

We obtained the first records 27—28 November 1982 in cerrado at the
Porto Ferreira State Reserve (21°50'S, 47°26’W), with later records at
several inland localities. Later it was collected in the Serra do Mar and
at Iguape (Pereira et al. 1988). It seems uncommon but regular in the
northern winter in secondary and similar woodlands, rare in primary
forest.

SCREAMING COWBIRD Molothrus rufoaxillaris

We saw young on 16 December 1982 in a group of Gnorimopsar chopi at
the lake (22°50’S, 49°15’W) of the state reserve of Aguas de Santa Barbara,
mistaking them for Molothrus badius (not recorded from Sao Paulo, as
our 1985 comment was incorrectly based on these records). Later
collected, as we reported in 1985. Now regular, with flocks in winter, in
the northwestern quarter of the state.

RED-LEGGED HONEYCREEPER Cyanerpes cyaneus

Willis found a pair in a flowering eucalyptus at the dam of the Horto
Florestal, Rio Claro, in the winters of 1985, 1986 (Willis 1987) and 1987,
while only a female was seen in 1988. Otherwise not recorded for the state,
suggesting that pairs move together on migrations and revisit distant
flowering trees that they have learned.

YELLOW-BILLED CARDINAL Paroaria capitata

Willis found one at the now flooded ‘mini-pantanal’ marshes of
Fazenda Anhangai (20°53’S, 50°41’W), on 23 April 1984. One was
following the tiny Itaqueri River up to the serra above Broa Reservoir
at 22°15'S, 47°52’W, 725 m elevation, on 28 December 1986, indicating
that such birds can wander far looking for marshes and ‘pantanals’; it
had probably followed the Tieté and Jacaré-Guacu rivers hundreds of
kilometres to reach Broa.

DARK-THROATED SEEDEATER Sporophila ruficollis
Meyer de Schauensee (1970: 409) reported the species, perhaps based
on Pinto’s (1944) register of a bird that had lived 15 months in captivity.

E.O. Willis S Y. Ontki 27 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

Willis and T. Sigrist saw one male, changing from winter to summer
plumage, in migrant flocks of Sporophila hypoxantha and S. melanogaster
on the campos of Itirapina (22°14’S, 47°52’W) on 21 November 1988.
These small ‘caboclinhos’ seem very close to the widespread S. bouvreuil
and stop on the almost extirpated Sao Paulo campos in October and
November, coming from winter sites east to Minas Gerais and going to
nesting campos in Argentina and southern Brazil to Paraguay. Loss of
Sao Paulo natural savannas may cause problems for migrations of these
birds, as well as concentrate them in the places easily found by cage-bird
fanciers. The conservation problem of these seedeaters is one of the worst
in Brazil and Argentina, but has received almost no attention nationally or
internationally. Proposed sand mining by international firms is only one
of the problems.

CHESTNUT SEEDEATER Sporophila cinnamomea

Willis found males with migrant flocks of ‘caboclinhos’ on the campos of
Itirapina 1 November 1988 and 22 October 1989, the last with head and
neck plus a belly spot in summer plumage and the rest of the body in
female-type plumage.

MARSH SEEDEATER Sporophila palustris

Willis found males with migrant flocks on the campos of Itirapina,
6 November 1988 and 29 October 1989. Not including the following
‘species’, fourteen Sporophila are registered from Sao Paulo, eleven of
them from Itirapina.

Sporophila ‘ardesiaca’

‘This supposed species appeared with seedeater flocks on the campos of
Itirapina on 21 November 1988 (Willis and T. Sigrist). It is a black-
headed S. nigricollis with the body (white belly and grey back) of
S. caerulescens, and we think it is a hybrid between the two. Most hybrid
birds in MZUSP come from the Rio Doce region of Espirito Santo and
Minas Gerais, where the two forms meet: no. 25325 is like S. nigricollis
but with the white moustache of S. caerulescens (Willis saw a similar bird
by the CVRD Reserve at Linhares, Espirito Santo, 8 September 1989);
no. 33894 is like S. caerulescens but with a dark throat and yellowish
belly; no. 25337 is an ‘ardesiaca’. S. nigricollis appears at Itirapina and
other places in northern Sao Paulo in October and November seedeater
migrations, once even 8 January 1989 at the Broa cerrado (22°10'S,
47°52’W), and could well hybridize here in small numbers with S.
caerulescens, an abundant species in the state. Rolf Grantsau (pers.
comm.) says the two species have nearly the same song, the females are
almost identical, and we feel Sick (1985 and earlier) should have decided
that they hybridize to give various types of ‘ardesiaca’ plumage with the
sprinkling of S. nigricollis southward.

Reconfirmed species

JABIRU Jabiru mycteria

A nest was found in a tall tree on the lower Tieté, ‘mini-pantanal’ of
Faz. Anhangai, 24 April 1984 (Willis). A reservoir destroyed the whole
region, once home of thousands of ducks, herons, storks and other water

E.O. Willis & Y. Oniki 28 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

birds. Occasional westward, nesting mostly in the Pantanal along the
Paraguay River.

SOUTHERN SCREAMER Chauna torquata

Willis found one at the edge of the new reservoir at Teodoro Sampaio
on 12 July 1989 (22°38’S, 52°16’W). Few records, perhaps winter or
wandering birds.

LESSER YELLOW-HEADED VULTURE Cathartes burrovianus
One over the soon-to-be-flooded pantanal of Lagoa Sao Paulo on
31 December 1986 (Willis). Only recorded a few times in the far west.

SWAINSON’S HAWK Buteo swainsoni

Willis and students found migrants over the campos of Itirapina on
24 November 1989, and he found another on 28 October 1991, probably
strays east of the normal migratory route. Sick (1979) is the only previous
report.

BLACK-COLLARED HAWK Busarellus nigricollis

Willis encountered lone birds on the ‘mini-pantanal’ of Fazenda Sao
Rafael on 26 April 1984, along the ribeirao da Onca marsh (21°11'S,
48°05’'W) west of Sertaozinho on 8 and 11 October 1985, at Lagoa
Sao Paulo on 31 December 1986, and on the ‘Teodoro Sampaio reservoir
2—3 January 1987. Likely regular in the west, but few records.

CROWNED EAGLE Harpyhaliaetus coronatus

Adult soaring 12 August 1984 over a busy highway at 960m in the
partly deforested Serra de Mantiqueira (23°10'S, 46°16’W) east of Nazare
Paulista (Willis). An immature was found shot on the serra da Bocaina on
23 June 1991 by A. A. Figueiredo Neto (MZUSP 70584; D. F. Stotz pers.
comm.). Rarely found, perhaps regular on open serras.

BLACK-AND-WHITE HAWE-EAGLE Spizastur melanoleucus

Soaring and giving a series of peeps at noon high over the forest at
Teodoro Sampaio (22°35'S, 52°21’W) on 12 July 1989 (Willis). D. F.
Stotz (pers. comm.) saw one soaring at Boracéia on 25 February 1991.
Few records.

ORNATE HAWE-EAGLE Spizaetus ornatus

Occasional birds in eastern forests only (Willis): 26 August 1987 at
Intervales (Bocaina, 24°16'S, 48°26’W), Ilhabela (23°50’S, 45°20’W) on
11 September 1984, and Sete Barras (24°10'S, 47°56’W) on 24 September
1983. Few records.

LITTLE WOOD-RAIL Aramides mangle

‘Three in a very small patch of mangroves at the northeast end of Ilha
Comprida on 16 June 1990 (Willis). They fly readily to high in the bushes,
being small and probably light birds; descend to flick dead wet leaves with
the bill. Several specimens in MZ USP from Icapara, just across the channel,
plus other sightings north to Peruibe and south to Parana in mangroves, at
times with A. cajanea (D. F. Stotz & P. Scherer pers. comm.).

OCELLATED CRAKE Micropygia schomburgkiu
Voice regular on the campos of the state reserve of Itapetininga
(23°39'S, 47°59’W), recently ploughed by Instituto Florestal agronomists

E.O. Willis S Y. Ontki 29 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

to plant introduced trees, and on the campos of Itirapina (Willis). Few
records.

SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER Calidris pusilla

One on the beach across from the northeast end of Ilha Comprida,
24 June 1984 (Willis). A specimen collected by R. Grantsau on the
Boracéia beach 30 October 1964 seems the first state record, a fact we
overlooked in 1985. Probably regular, but crowds and cars leave little
room for sandpipers on Sao Paulo beaches.

SOUTH POLAR SKUA Catharacta maccormicki

Rolf Grantsau (pers. comm.) has confirmed as a South Polar Skua
the specimen we (1985) provisionally registered as ‘“‘Stercorarius
pomarinus?’’.

BAND-WINGED NIGHTJAR Caprimulgus longirostris

We found several on 26 January 1983 on the rocky tops of cliffs
(24°18’S, 49°13’W) at the Agronomic Institute south of Itararé, and
others singing on the serra near Itapirapua (24°21'S, 49°10’W) on
15 August 1989. Few records, perhaps regular on high serras; does not
seem to have invaded cities as in Rio de Janeiro (Sick 1985).

SPOT-TAILED NIGHTJAR Caprimulgus maculicaudus

Willis found several singing in pastures along the marsh west of
Sertaozinho on 8, 21 and 22 October 1985; singing at the Santa Lucia
marsh (21°40’S, 48°01’W) of the Fazenda dos Alpes on 12 November
1988 and at the Boca do rio das Pedras on 13 September 1987. E. Dente
(pers. comm.) registered it near Pederneiras. Records few.

HELMETED WOODPECKER Dryocopus galeatus

A female low on trunks of tall second growth at 800 m on the rio do
Carmo road (24°17'S, 48°25’W) at Intervales on 12 February 1987,
pecked at a few sites and readily fled. C. Yamashita (pers. comm.)
encountered another in similar habitat at Carlos Botelho State Park. Few
recent records, but easily overlooked as shy and in understory.

FORK-TAILED PYGMY-TYRANT Hemitriccus furcatus

Calls a loud tee-tee-teet trill, like others of the genus, early in the
morning by the last tall forest area along the coastal road between Rio de
Janeiro and Santos, Rio Quiririm (km 23) (23°20'S, 44°56’W). T. A.
Parker III registered it at Fazenda Capricornio and elsewhere near
Ubatuba (D. F. Stotz pers. comm.)

MASKED WATER-TYRANT Fluvicola nengeta

As noted by Willis (1992), I. Sazima photographed the first pair for
the state sleeping together in mangroves of Ilhabela on 1 October 1980;
specimen by Alvarenga (1990); spreading to many open ponds in the
northeastern part of the state during the last ten years, due probably to
forest destruction.

OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER Contopus borealis

Willis et al. (1993) register several birds. First record at Boracéia by
D. W. Snow.

E. O. Willis & Y. Ontki 30 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

WHITE-BANDED MOCKINGBIRD Mimus triurus

J. Vielliard and J.-D. Lebreton registered the first bird for the state at
Maruja (25°12'S, 47°59’W); this and later records, all winter birds along
the coast, noted by Argel-de-Oliveira (1987) and Willis & Vielliard
(1989).

WHITE-STRIPED WARBLER Basileuterus leucophrys

We found it regular in gallery woodlands at Sao Carlos and on the
campos of Itirapina, atop the sandstone chapada or mesa of Sao Carlos, an
isolated cerrado zone in central Sao Paulo; also northward in similar
swamps, where it is easily overlooked except for its loud vocalizations.

SCARLET-HEADED BLACKBIRD Amblyramphus holosericeus

F. F. Ferrari (pers. comm.) saw the first Scarlet-headed Blackbirds in
1984 on the Paranapanema river, and Willis registered others in marshes
of the lower Aguapei (Tupi Paulista bridge, 21°13’S, 51°30’W; also
Fazenda Promissao) on 29-30 April 1984. We do not know if it nests or
only appears in winter.

BLACK-FACED TANAGER Schistochlamys melanopis

Willis recorded one in edges of cerraddo of the Fazenda dos Alpes,
Santa Lucia, on 30 December 1988. Few records northward, mostly over
50 years ago.

Disappearing species

LESSER NOTHURA Nothura minor

A bird of frequently cleared campo and campo cerrado habitats, recently
only at Itirapina where not registered since the company that owned its
habitat ploughed the centre of the zone in 1988. Emas National Park in
Goias is the only place we know where N. minor is protected.

DWARF TINAMOU Taoniscus nanus
A campo bird not recorded recently.

BAY-WINGED HAWK Parabuteo unicinctus

Although a bird of dry woodlands, it depends on group nesting and
probably chases chickens. It is unrecorded from the state since collected
in the 1800s in the heavily populated Paraiba Valley.

RED-THROATED CARACARA Daptrius americanus
A forest-interior bird (Thiollay 1991) that vanished with forest clearing
in central and western Sao Paulo in the last 50 years.

BARE-FACED CURASSOW Crax fasciolata

Rare in the northwest, seen recently only at Paulo de Faria and at Nova
Independencia. Hunted in the few gallery woods left in the state, though
common in the Pantanal.

RED-AND-GREEN MACAW Ara chloroptera

A pair flew across the Paranapanema River to the state of Parana at
Teodoro Sampaio, 12 July 1989 (Willis). Forest guards see occasional
birds, but report that nestlings at the edge of the new reservoir were
robbed by bird fanciers. Once regular far to the east, now almost gone.

E.O. Willis & Y. Ontki 31 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

BLUE-AND-YELLOW MACAW Ara ararauna

A pair in palms on the now flooded ‘mini-pantanal’ of Fazenda
Aracangua on 24 April 1984 (Willis). Guards report it at Teodoro
Sampaio. Almost gone, mostly wanderers from the west.

FLAME-CAPPED PARAKEET Aratinga auricapilla

Still locally numerous at Mata Chita, the Pedregulho canyon or furna,
and other vanishing northern dry woodlands; only protected at the Paulo
de Faria reserve, where cattle and hunters are a problem.

Amazona parrots

A. xanthops of badly destroyed western open zones is not recorded
recently; it survives mainly in Emas National Park in Goias. A. aestiva,
though the most popular cage-bird species, survives in Teodoro Sampaio
and other areas in reduced numbers. A. brasiliensis of the Ilha Comprida
region has been almost exterminated in the last few years by beach-house
roads that give cage-bird traders access, though a few are protected at
nearby Ilha do Cardoso Park. Other species in the state seem protected by
reserves, though subject to illegal capture.

BLUE-EYED GROUND-DOVE Columbina cyanopis
A bird of open western zones, not recorded since early this century.

PURPLE-WINGED GROUND-DOVE Claravis godefrida

Said to follow bamboo seedings in eastern forests, now rare events
because only bamboos that live on steep slopes survive. T. A. Parker ITT
recently found one near Ubatuba (D. F. Stotz pers. comm.).

WHITE-WINGED NIGHTJAR Caprimulgus candicans
A bird of the disappearing campos, not registered since Natterer.

THREE-TOED JACAMAR Jacamaralcyon tridactyla

We do not know why this bird disappeared, perhaps because clearing in
the last 50 years has left hardly any large forest tracts across the centre of
the state. Recorded at several interior localities before the clearing
‘binge’.
WHITE-BEARDED ANTSHRIKE Biatas nigropectus

Pairs live in bamboo at Intervales, following flocks of similarly
coloured Philydor fuscus in the understory whenever possible; mimicry
probable (Willis 1989). Not seen elsewhere, perhaps disappearing.

SOUTHERN BRISTLE-TYRANT Phylloscartes eximius
Another frequent bird of understory flocks in western forests until 50

years ago, which we encountered only in Parana State (mainly Iguacgu
National Park) in 1975.

RUFOUS-SIDED PYGMY-TYRANT Euscarthmus rufomarginatus

A bird of western semi-open zones, not recorded since 1821 (Pelzeln
1869). Survives in Mato Grosso (Willis & Oniki 1990).

CREAM-BELLIED GNATCATCHER Polioptila lactea
Another forest bird of the interior, known to stay in treetop flocks; not
registered since one pair in 1905 (Pinto 1944).

E. O. Willis & Y. Ontki 32 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

OCHRE-BREASTED PIPIT Anthus nattereri

Like Nothura minor, a rare bird of interior savannas, registered on the
campos of Itirapina until 1988 and on those of Aguas de Santa Barbara
(22°46'S, 49°15’W) earlier. Seems to like swampy sites and lagoons,
especially where recently burned. With reduction of natural open habi-
tats, the chance that birds will find recently burned sites near swampy
ones drops to near zero.

COAL-CRESTED FINCH Charitospiza eucosma

Likes burned zones in open cerrado, recently only at the isolated Broa
cerrado (22°10'S, 47°52’W) and nearby; protected in Emas National Park
but not in any numbers elsewhere.

Sporophila spp.

‘Caboclinhos’ of the S. bouvreuil group disappear, as explained above,
because of loss of natural campos to stop at on migration as they cross the
forest belt in Parana and Sao Paulo and because they are subject to heavy
capture for the cage-bird trade.

Sporophila frontalis and S. falcirostris are apparently rare, due to
cage-bird fanciers and rarity of seeding of eastern bamboos, their main
foods. Recently recorded near Ubatuba (T. A. Parker III), while Willis
has seen a few S. frontalis in Carlos Botelho and Itatiaia (en route to Pico
dos Trés Estados but in Minas Gerais); this species said to be captured in
small numbers at rice fields in the Ribeira Valley and to nest on protected

Ilha do Cardoso (P. Martuscelli, fide D. F. Stotz).

GREATER LARGE-BILLED SEED FINCH Oryzoborus maximiliani

The object of hundreds of dollars in the cage-bird trade, and a species
of swampy borders of local natural campos, this is a bird that has an almost
100% chance of being caught in populous Sao Paulo. We have not seen it.
Oyyechon angolensis, its smaller and more cluttered-habitat relative,
is a thousand-dollar bird for cage-bird song competitions (Sick 1985),
picturesque affairs that are incredibly efficient at eliminating a formerly-
common species except in occasional places we are not going to tell
anybody about.

Discussion

Disappearance

Species disappearing from Sao Paulo state are mostly birds of inland open
habitats, birds of inland dry-forest zones (99° destroyed), bamboo
species, and popular cage-birds. The disappearance of birds of open
or semi-open natural habitats needs attention, for most people seem
surprised that certain species of these zones do not adapt to pastures and
fields. The 2 million square kilometers of Brazilian cerrado are the fastest
disappearing habitat in the world, mainly for big ranches that do not
resettle poor people. Our discussion of this at the 1990 International
Ecological Congress in Yokohama attracted woefully little attention.
Specifically, Itirapina, Itapetininga, Aguas de Santa Barbara, and
similar campo/cerrado areas need better protection and use of planned
burning.

E.O. Willis & Y. Ontki 33 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

Reservoirs on every possible inch of rivers eliminate other species. We
hope the little Aguapei, Mogi-Guagu and Sapucai Rivers will not be next,
and propose protected status, perhaps environmental protection areas
and local reserves.

Certain mixed-flock or other birds of inland forests seem nearly gone,
worse off than Atlantic coastal species that attract attention. Some of the
northern inland dry forests, such as Mata Chita, the Pedregulho Canyon,
and Fazenda dos Alpes, deserve protection; cattle could be removed from
Paulo de Faria Reserve.

Coastal species with problems are mostly affected by affuent beach-
house developments. We especially recommend park status for the north-
eastern 5 km of Ilha Comprida, subject to occasional storm wash and
better for shorebirds than for houses, plus the southwestern 10 km as the
best restinga forest, home of Amazona brasiliensis and a new species of
flycatcher (Willis & Oniki 1992), and 40 km from the proposed bridge
anyway. T. Sigrist (pers. comm.) found truckloads of forest cutters
busy in the centre of the island in January 1992 at the mere rumour of
impending reserve status.

Disappearing bamboo specialists probably have to wait too long
between bamboo seed crops, since bamboo species that should fill the
gaps were in flat housing or agricultural zones inland or coastally. Several
species are hit hard by the affluent cage-bird trade, which should be
banned or concentrate on abundant Sporophila caerulescens. ‘The other
seedeaters and parrots sing too well or are too pretty for their own good.

New species

New species are mostly birds of bushy pastures, often from dryer zones to
the north and west. Some were present all along—migrant seedeaters,
northern upland and buriti species that barely reach the state, the
mountaintop O. moreirae, certain river-edge birds of the west. We are not
certain if migrant Catharus fuscescens and Contopus borealis were here all
along or if they have increased with clearings, possible lower numbers of
resident competitors, or some other factor.

Acknowledgements

We appreciate grants from the CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico
e Tecnologico) and FAPESP (Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo)
for studies. The Museum of Zoology of the University of Sao Paulo allowed us to study
specimens. Ranchers and the Instituto Florestal helped by allowing us to visit their areas.
D. F. Stotz provided information for which we are grateful.

References:

Alvarenga, H. M. F. 1990. Novos registros e expanses geograficas de aves no leste do
Estado de Sao Paulo. Ararajuba 1: 115-117.

Argel-de-Oliveira, M. M. 1987. Ocorréncia da calandra real (Mimus triurus) (Passeriformes,
Mimidae) no Estado de Sao Paulo. Bol. CEO (Sao Paulo) 3: 30-33.

Dickerman, R. W. 1988. A review of the Least Nighthawk Chordeiles pusillus. Bull. Brit.
Orn. Cl. 108: 120-125.

Meyer de Schauensee, R. 1970. A Guide to the Birds of South America. Livingston Publ. Co.,
Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.

Pelzeln, A. von. 1869. Zur Ornithologie Brasiliens. A. Pichler’s Witwe & Sohn, Wien.

Pereira, L. E., Sacchetta, L. de A. & de Souza, D. M. 1988. Catharus fuscescens (Stephens
1817), nova especié para o Estado de Sao Paulo. Anais III Encontro Nac. Anilhadores
Aves (ENAV ), Sao Leopoldo (1987): 111-112.

M.R. Browning 34 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

Pinto, O. 1944. Catalogo das Aves do Brasil, segunda parte. Secretaria de Agricultura, Sao
Paulo.

Ruschi, A. 1965. Os nomes vulgares dos beija-flores do estado de Sao Paulo (Trochilidae—
Aves). Bol. Mus. Biol. Prof. Mello Leitao, ser. Divulg. (28): 1-3.

Sick, H. 1979. Notes on some Brazilian birds. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 99: 115-120.

Sick, H. 1985. Ornitologia Brasileira: uma introdugao. Ed. Univ. Brasilia.

Thiollay, J.-M. 1991. Foraging, home range use and social behaviour of a group-living
rainforest raptor, the Red-throated Caracara Daptrius americanus. Ibis 133: 382-393.

Willis, E. O. 1987. Possible long-distance pair migration in Cyanerpes cyaneus. Wilson Bull.
99: 498-499.

Willis, E.O. 1989. Mimicry in bird flocks of cloud forests in southeastern Brasil. Rev. Brasil.
Biol. 49: 615-619.

Willis, E. O. 1992. Expansao geografica de Netta erythrophthalma, Fluvicola nengeta e
outras aves de zonas abertas com a “‘desertificagao”’ antropica em Sao Paulo. Ararajuba
2: 101-102.

Willis, E. O. & Oniki, Y. 1985. Bird specimens new for the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Rev.
Brasil. Biol. 45: 105-108.

Willis, E. O. & Oniki, Y. 1990. Levantamento preliminar das aves de inverno em dez areas
do sudoeste de Mato Grosso, Brasil. Ararajuba 1: 19-38.

Willis, E. O. & Oniki, Y. 1992. A new Phylloscartes (Tyrannidae) from southeastern Brazil.
Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 112: 158-165.

Willis, E.O., Snow, D. W., Stotz, D. F. & Parker, T., III. 1993. Olive-sided Flycatchers in
southeastern Brazil. Wilson Bull. 105: 193-194.

Willis, E. O. & Vielliard, J. M. E. 1989. Sobre Mimus triurus no Estado de Sao Paulo.
Boletim CEO, USP, S.P. 6: 19-20.

Address: Dr. E. O. Willis and Dr. Y. Oniki, Departamento de Zoologia, UNESP, C. P. 199,
13500 Rio Claro, SP, Brazil.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

‘Taxonomy of the blue-crested group of
Cyanocitta stelleri (Steller’s Jay) witha
description of a new subspecies

by M. Ralph Browning
Received 17 March 1992

Populations of Cyanocitta stelleri (Steller’s Jay) that breed from Alaska to
northern Mexico, as far south as Jalisco in western Mexico, and one
population (azteca) in central Mexico, are black-crested. Blue-crested
populations surrounding C. s. azteca breed in the mountains from
southern San Luis Potosi, Guanajuato and Michoacan (Fig. 1) south to
Honduras and Nicaragua. Blue- and black-crested (azteca) populations
intergrade only in Michoacan and western Veracruz.

Blake (zn Blake & Vaurie 1962) recognized five subspecies in the
blue-crested group: coronata Swainson, 1827, from Guanajuato, San
Luis Potosi, Hidalgo, northern Veracruz, and ‘“‘(?)’? Oaxaca; purpurea
Aldrich, 1944, from Michoacan; teotepecensis Moore, 1955, from
Guerrero; ridgwayi Miller and Griscom, 1925, from Chiapas to western
Guatemala, El Salvador, and ‘‘(?)’” Honduras; and suavis Miller and
Griscom, 1925, from Nicaragua. An additional name, C. s. restricta, was

M. R. Browning 35 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

proposed by Phillips (1966) for the populations from Oaxaca. Phillips
(1986) later recognized only four subspecies in the blue-crested group.
He synonymized ridgwayi and teotepecensis with coronata. Although
Phillips (1986: 45) recognized restricta, he concluded that its status
was ‘“‘problematical’’ because “Hidalgo birds (El Chico) ... appear in-
distinguishable from Oaxaca specimens.” Phillips (7 litt.) later stated
that the birds from Hidalgo “might be viewed as [the] Veracruz race
[ =coronata] somewhat paled by diademata’’ Bonaparte, 1857, a black-
crested subspecies from northern Mexico, Arizona, and New Mexico.
Binford (1989) synonymized restricta with coronata, but recognized
teotepecensis.

The extent of geographic variation in the blue-crested group of C.
stelleri (see Brown 1963) suggests that there are more subspecies than
accepted by Phillips (1986). Because of this, I reevaluate the taxonomic
status of the blue-crested populations. I also restrict the type locality of
coronata.

Methods

I examined 207 blue-crested and 32 black-crested specimens of adult
C. stelleri from Mexico south to El Salvador and Nicaragua. Birds in
similar plumages were compared for variation in the intensity of blue
(pale or dark) and the amount of purple on the back, undersides, and crest.
‘The white to pale blue streaks on the front of the crest were compared for
variation in colour and approximate number. I measured the wing chord
and the length of the crest from the base of the exposed culmen to the tip
of the longest crest feather (Tables 1 and 2). I did not measure the length
of the supraloral spot and the frontal streaks on the crest as did Brown
(1962). The length of the spot is subject to variation caused by differences
in specimen preparation, and the beginning and ending of the streaks on
the frontal crest are impossible to determine accurately. Measurements of
other characters show essentially no geographic variation.

Results

Geographic variation in the blue-crested populations is most pro-
nounced in the colour of the back and colour and length of the crest.
One population of blue-crested birds and two of black-crested jays from
Mexico have longer wings and crests (Tables 1 and 2) than other popu-
lations in this study. Differences between the colour of fresh and worn
plumages of specimens from the same localities are slight. The few
first-year birds I examined are less heavily barred with black on their
wing coverts, have shorter wings, and are usually paler blue, especially
below, than adults from the same populations. The taxonomic status of
C. s. coronata and the subspecific characters of subspecies follow.

The type of locality and taxonomic status of C.s. coronata

Swainson (1827a: 437) described coronata as ‘‘crested, blue, sides
of head blackish; chin, front, and eye-brow whitish, wing coverts and
tertials banded with black lines; tail rounded.”’ The holotype of coronata

M.R. Browning 36 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

is lost and Swainson’s ambiguous description could apply to almost any
population of C. stelleri, but authors as early as Jardine & Selby
(1828-1830) and Bonaparte (1837) regarded the description of coronata as
referring to a blue-crested bird. The range of coronata was stated by
Ridgway (1873: 42) as ‘““Vera Cruz to Honduras.”

The type locality of coronata has been subject to controversy. Swainson
(1827a) wrote that coronata “‘occurs in various parts of the Table land.”
The source for the specimens he reported was William Bullock, Sr., who
had travelled in the states of Veracruz, Puebla and Mexico in 1822.
Ridgway (1904), followed by Hellmayr (1934), gave the type locality of
coronata as ‘‘table lands of Mexico.’’ Brodkorb (1944: 403) restricted the
type locality of coronata to Real del Monte in southern Hidalgo, “a well
known Bullockian locality.’’ Davis (1945), remarking that Bullock (Sr.)
did not travel in Hidalgo, restricted the type locality of coronata to Cofre
de Perote in northwestern Veracruz. Moore (1954) stated that specimens
from Real del Monte and Cofre de Perote are similar, and Miller et al.
(1957) listed both places and did not indicate which they considered was
the type locality. Phillips (1966) followed Brodkorb (1944), but later
(Phillips 1986: 45) stated, without providing reasons, that the type
locality of coronata is “‘probably’’ Cofre de Perote and that it “‘seems
unlikely”’ that it is Real del Monte.

Swainson did acquire specimens from Real del Monte from William
Bullock, Jr. (Swainson 1827b), who visited there and collected birds
elsewhere in the table lands and in Oaxaca (Stresemann 1954). Swainson
also acquired specimens from Real del Monte from John Taylor (see
Browning [1989] on details of Swainson’s sources of specimens from
Mexico), but Swainson never associated coronata with that locality.
However, Jardine & Selby’s (1828-1830: pl. 64 and accompanying text)
illustration and description of a specimen “‘sent by Mr. William Bullock
from the table land of Mexico”’ are of a bird that is darker and more purple
dorsally than are specimens from Real del Monte.

The only locality for which Bullock Sr. (1824) mentioned collecting
jays was near Rio Frio, Puebla, but specimens from there are black-
crested (Brodkorb 1944) and are referred to azteca Ridgway, 1899, of
central Mexico. Bullock Sr. collected birds at the village of Perote,
Veracruz, where he first referred to being in the table lands. Davis’s
(1945) specimens of C. stelleri from nearby Cofre de Perote are
intergrades between black-crested and blue-crested populations.

The only locality Bullock Sr. actually visited that has a dark purplish-
backed population of pure blue-crested C. stelleri is Las Vigas, Veracruz.
Bullock passed through Las Vigas, spending the night in Perote. It is
likely he there prepared the specimens he collected that day, labelling
them all as from the ‘““Table Land.” I conclude that the type locality of
C. s. coronata is best considered Las Vigas, Veracruz, and I hereby so
restrict it.

‘The subspecies coronata is paler blue than purpurea Aldrich, 1944, a
dark and extensively purple subspecies from Michoacan, and teotepecensis
from Guerrero, and is darker blue below and more purple on the back and
especially the crest than other subspecies. Specimens from Cerro Conejo,
San Luis Potosi, bear no resemblance (contra Lowery & Newman (1951)

M. R. Browning 37 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

to teotepecensis. The markings on the front of the crest and the crown in
coronata are noticeably paler blue and the crown and back are more purple
than in ridgwayi from Chiapas, Mexico and Guatemala, and restricta from
Oaxaca. The undersides in coronata are darker blue and the back is darker
and more purple than in restricta, the crest is longer than in ridgwayi and
orter than in teotepecensis (Tables 1 and 2). Specimens of coronata are
slightly more purplish-blue on the crest and back than the 2 specimens I
examined of /azula, a more purely blue subspecies from El Salvador.

I conclude that the range of coronata (number of specimens examined
in parentheses) includes only northern Veracruz (7), probably northern
Puebla (0), and Cerro Conejo region in southeastern San Luis Potosi (11).
Intergradation between coronata and azteca occurs at La Puerta (Moore
1954), Mirador (2), Orizaba (1), and Cofre de Perote (2) in Veracruz.

Birds from southern Hidalgo are not intermediate between coronata
and the greyish-backed and black-crested subspecies diademata (contra
Phillips 1986). Specimens from Real del Monte, Hidalgo, are slightly
paler on the back than coronata from Veracruz, and birds from nearby El
Chico, Hidalgo, are still paler and are less purple dorsally than those from
Real del Monte. I conclude that specimens from southern Hidalgo are
similar to coronata but tend toward paler specimens from northern
Hidalgo, Guanajuato, and Canada Grande in southwestern San Luis
Potosi. Pale specimens from Xichu, Guanajuato, reported by Moore
(1954), and from Canada Grande, San Luis Potosi, by Phillips (1986),
were identified by those authors as coronata. However, the pale northern
population is distinguishable from the adjacent subspecies coronata and
from the geographically disjunct subspecies restricta. The northern
blue-crested population is here named

Cyanocitta stelleri phillipsi, subsp. nov.

Holotype. LSUMZ 15483, adult male, Canada Grande (7 miles SE by
road), San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Elevation 7400 feet. Collected 8 May
1950 by Robert J. Newman, original number 1880.

Diagnosis. Similar to coronata in size but noticeably paler and duller
blue above and below; almost lacks purple colour on the back, crest, and
upper breast; pale markings on the front crest appear to extend farther
distally. Darker blue above and below and less purple than restricta. The
contrast between the colours of the back and crest is greater in phillipsi
than in the other blue-crested subspecies. Compared to diademata: crest
blue (not black); overall bluish (less greenish) plumage; shorter wings and
crest.

Measurements of the holotype (mm). Wing chord 145.7, tail 139.8, crest
length 57.5.

Distribution. Canada Grande, San Luis Potosi (6 specimens), Xichu,
Guanajuato (4), and Encarnacion, Hidalgo (1). Specimens from El Chico
(2) and Real del Monte (2), Hidalgo, are phillips > coronata.

Etymology. Named for Allan R. Phillips, in recognition of his
numerous contributions on the taxonomy and distribution of birds from
North and Middle America.

M. R. Browning 38 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

¢ Wak an 100° ;
a ea ASANTIUS POTOSI *.
*, SZACATECAS ° ii i on pega ey
ah anny eins inolg MRO) Wekarfine
i Sadlpe< gh aig oe duis hrs
WALISGOm cs fase NMI RO
OC date Sn
oe SN Qiiss Suneie:

Char) r ' A
aN a
2-7. . MICHOACAN

A. diademata e coronata

* phillipsi * teotepecensis

® purpurea @ restricta

v azteca “ phillipsi x coronata

Figure 1. Localities of specimens examined of Cyanocitta stelleri from central Mexico.

Remarks. The specimen from Encarnacion was collected in October;
all other adult specimens of phillipsi were collected in April and May.
One first-year bird from Canada Grande is slightly pale but otherwise
resembles the adults from the same locality. A first-year female collected
at El] Lobo, Querétaro, at 5400 feet, in January, is darker blue than a
first-year bird from Canada Grande. The specimen from Querétaro re-
sembles a first-year bird from Veracruz but it is deeper blue, especially
below.

Other recognized subspecies

In addition to coronata and phillipsi, | recognize six subspecies in the
blue-crested group of C. stelleri (Fig. 1). The ranges (specimens
examined in parentheses) and subspecific characters of these and the two
black-crested subspecies from Mexico are as follows:

C. s. ridgway1. This subspecies differs from coronata as previously
characterized. It is similar to restricta in the amount of white on the
throat, but ridgwayi differs in its darker blue plumage and bluer (less
whitish) crest streaks. Resident in Chiapas (24) and Guatemala (56).

The name galeata Cabanis, 1851, synonymized by Ridgway (1899,
1904) with coronata, was based on a specimen with the locality ‘““St Fe’ de

M. R. Browning 39 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

TABLE 1
Wing chord and length of crest in adult male Cyanocitta stelleri

Wing chord Crest length
Subspecies range mean, s.d. n range mean, s.d. n
azteca 147.5-152.3. 149.5 6 65.6-71.6 68.8 6
diademata 140.4-150.9 146.0 5 62.4-72.1 65.9 6
phillipsi 139.9-145.7. 142.7 6 57.5—63.3 60.3 6
coronata 137.8-148.2 144.2, 3.14 10 58.6-66.1 61.1, 3.10 9
restricta 137.0-150.4 142.6, 4.43 10 57.4-67.2 62:65:3:68! ead
purpurea 145.2-155.3 149.2 5 60.2—74.9 69.9 6
teotepecensis 137.0-150.4 142.6, 4.43 10 61.3-73.8 67.4,4.07 11

ridgwayt:
Chiapas 135.4-151.1 145.8, 4.07 15 49 .0-62.2 SORZN3 7 eS
Guatemala 136.3-148.0 142.7, 3.92 11 52.7-64.1 572513260) vad
suavis 137.0-151.6 143.1,3.77 13 53.8-606.6 MEO 2D Dy yal 2
lazula 150.4 1 58.2 1
TABLE 2

Wing chord and length of crest in adult female Cyanocitta stelleri

Wing chord Crest length
Subspecies range mean, s.d. n range mean, s.d. n
azteca 144.2-152.0 147.9 4 63.0-69.9 66.4 5
diademata 138.3-143.7 141.1 6 62.3-66.8 65.9 6
phillipst 135.5-142.8 139.5 + 56.8-64.2 61.5 +
coronata 137.9-148.0 142.5, 2.96 9 58.2-64.4 60.9, 2.40 9
restricta 135.6—-144.5 113952 3 51.4-63.1 yall 3
purpurea 133.0-141.6 138.7 5 61.2-69.0 65.7 5
teotepecensis 134.4-146.7 140.6, 4.50 9 59.2-68.0 62.4, 2.98 9

ridgwayt:

Chiapas 137.7-145.2 141.6, 2.58 9 51.9-57.8 54.3, 1.94 9
Guatemala 135.7-145.2 140.3 7 51.3-57.9 54.3 7
suavis 136.2-149.9 144.1 5 55.7-59.0 57/68 5
lazula 137-2 1 58.3 1

Bogata.?’’ Two specimens (4697, male and 4698, female ?) in the Museum
Heineanum are identified as Cyanocitta galeata, one of which is the holo-
type (B. Nicolai, zm litt.). Nicolai characterized the two specimens as
having a shorter crest than coronata and plumage colour as ridgwayi. The
name galeata is a nomen oblitum.

C. s. suavis. This subspecies differs from ridgwayi by its paler blue
plumage, with a greater contrast in colour between the back and crest, and
less white on the chin. Resident in Nicaragua (15) and Honduras (9). I
agree with Monroe (1968) that birds from Honduras do not intergrade
(contra Blake in Blake & Vaurie 1962) with ridgwayi.

M. R. Browning 40 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

C. s. lazula. The two specimens examined are darker and more purely
blue than specimens of swavis or ridgwayi. Resident in El] Salvador (2).
‘Tashian (1953) stated that /azula did not appear separable from ridgwayt,
and Blake (zn Blake & Vaurie 1962) and Monroe (1968) synonymized
lazula with ridgwayi. Others (e.g. Dickey & van Rossem 1938, Rand &
Traylor 1954, Phillips 1986) recognized lazula as a distinct subspecies. I
tentatively recognize lazula.

C. s. purpurea. This subspecies is much darker and more extensively
purple on the crest, back and upper breast than the other blue-crested
subspecies. The crest streaks are less bluish in purpurea than in
teotepecensis. It is similar to azteca in wing chord and 1n the length of the
crest (Tables 1 and 2). Resident in western and central Michoacan (15).
Intergrades with black-crested azteca in north-central Michoacan (Blake

& Hanson (1942).

C. s. teotepecensis. Specimens of teotepecensis are paler blue and less
dark purple than in purpurea. Birds from Guerrero differ from restricta
by their darker colouration, less white on the chin, and longer and less
heavily marked crests. Resident in central and southern Guerrero (23).

C. s. restricta. ‘This subspecies differs from coronata and phillipsi as
previously characterized. Cyanocitta s. restricta differs from teotepecensis
in being paler blue below and in the more extensive and paler blue
markings on the front of the crest. The crest is shorter than 1n teotepecensis
and longer than in ridgwayt (‘Tables 1 and 2). The more extensive white
on the chin resembles that in ridgwayi. Resident in Oaxaca (28).
Morphological differences between specimens from Oaxaca and other
populations were reported by several authors (e.g. Hellmayr 1935, Brown
1962) before Phillips (1966) proposed the name restricta.

C. s. azteca. ‘This black-crested subspecies is purplish-blue dorsally.
Resident in the states of Mexico (9), Distrito Federal (9), Morelos (2),
Puebla (2), and west-central Veracruz (5).

C. s. diademata. This black-crested subspecies is greyish dorsally.
From southeastern Sonora (2) and extreme southwestern Chihuahua (6)
to Durango (1), Jalisco (2), Zacatecas (2), and Cerro Potosi, Nuevo Leon.

Acknowledgements

I thank the following museums for loaning specimens: American Museum of Natural
History, California Academy of Sciences, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Field
Museum of Natural History, Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science,
Moore Laboratory of Zoology, Texas A & M University, and Western Foundation of
Vertebrate Zoology. I also thank the staffs of many other museums for checking their
collections for specimens. I extend appreciation to B. Nicolai, Museum Heineanum, for
information on the specimens of Cyanocitta galeata, and to Burt L. Monroe, Jr., R. W.
Dickerman and A. R. Phillips for reading an early version of the manuscript. I especially
thank R. C. Banks for his helpful comments and suggestions on later drafts of the
manuscript.

M. R. Browning 41 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

References:

Binford, L. C. 1989. A distributional survey of the birds of the Mexican state of Oaxaca.
Orn. Monogr. no. 43.

Blake, E. R. & Hanson, H. C. 1942. Notes ona collection of birds from Michoacan, Mexico.
Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Zool. Ser. 22: 513-551.

Blake, E.R. & Vaurie, C. 1962. Family Corvidae. Pp. 204-284 1m E. Mayr & J. G. Greenway,
Jr. (eds.), Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 15. Museum of Comparative Zoology,
Harvard.

Bonaparte, L. 1837. [Description of new or interesting birds from South America and
Mexico.] Proc. Zool. Soc. London, Pt. 5: 108-122.

Brodkorb, P. 1944. The type localities of some Mexican birds of the genera Aphelocoma,
Cyanocitta, and Peucedramus. Auk 61: 400-404.

Brown, J. L. 1963. Ecogeographic variation and introgression in an avian visual signal: the
crest of the Steller’s Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri). Evol. 17: 23-39.

Browning, M. R. 1989. The correct citation and spelling of Ptiliogonys and type locality of
Piiliogonys cinereus. Auk 106: 743-746.

Bullock, W. 1824. Six months residence and travels in Mexico ... John Murray, London.

Davis, W. B. 1945. Notes on Veracruzan birds. Auk 62: 272-286.

Dickey, D. R. & van Rossem, A. J. 1938. The birds of El Salvador. Field Mus. Nat. Hist.
Publ., Zool. Ser. 23.

Hellmayr, C. E. 1934. Catalogue of birds of the Americas. Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Publ., Zool.
Sen Sabet se

Jardine, W. & Selby, P. J. 1828-1830. Illustrations of Ornithology. Vol. 2. W. H. Lizars,
Edinburgh.

Lowery, G. H. & Newman, R. J. 1951. Notes on the ornithology of southeastern San Luis
Potosi. Wilson Bull. 63: 315-322.

Miller, A. H., Friedman, H., Griscom, L. & Moore, R. T. 1957. Distributional check-list of
the birds of Mexico. Pt. 2. Pacific Coast Avif. no. 33.

Monroe, B. L., Jr. 1968. A distributional survey of the birds of Honduras. Orn. Monogr.
no. 7.

Moore, R. T. 1954. A new jay from Mexico. Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 67: 235-238.

Phillips, A. R. 1966. Further systematic notes on Mexican birds. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 86:
103-112.

Phillips, A. R. 1986. The Known Birds of North and Middle America. Pt. 1. Privately
published, Denver, Colorado.

Rand, A. L. & Traylor, M. A. 1954. Manual de las Aves de El Salvador. Universidad de El
Salvador, San Salvador.

Ridgway, R. 1873. The relation between color and geographical distribution of birds as
exhibited in melanism and hyperchromism. Journ. Soc. Sci. 4: 454-460; 5: 39-44.
Ridgway, R. 1899. New species, etc., of American birds. -IV. Fringillidae (concluded);

Corvidae (part). Auk 16: 254-256.

Ridgway, R. 1904. Birds of North and Middle America. Bull. U.S. Natl Mus. no. 50. Pt. 3.

Stresemann, E. 1954. Ferdinand Deppe’s travels in Mexico, 1824-1829. Condor 56: 86—92.

Swainson, W. 1827a. A synopsis of the birds discovered in Mexico by W. Bullock, F. L. S.,
and H.S., and Mr. William Bullock, Jun. Phil. Mag. n.s. 1(5): 364-369; 433-442.

Swainson, W. 1827b. On several groups and forms in ornithology, not hitherto defined.
Zool. Journ. 3: 158-175; 343-363.

Tashian, R. E. 1953. The birds of southeastern Guatemala. Condor 53: 198-210.

Address: Dr M. R. Browning, Biological Survey, Fish and Wildlife Service, National
Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C. 20560, U.S.A.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

A. C. Kitchener et al. 42 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

First record of the Blue Crowned Pigeon
Goura cristata on Seram

by Andrew C. Kitchener, Alastair A. Macdonald &
Philip Howard

Received 27 February 1992

Three species of crowned pigeons, Goura spp., are found throughout
New Guinea and some neighbouring islands (Goodwin 1970, Coates
1985, Beehler et al. 1986, Howard & Moore 1991). The most westerly
record of the Blue Crowned Pigeon Goura cristata is from the island of
Misool (just to the west of the Vogelkop Peninsula of New Guinea), but it
has also been erroneously recorded from Timor (White & Bruce 1986).

On 25 August 1991 a Blue Crowned Pigeon, destined for the cooking
pot, was obtained from the villagers of Melinani, a few kilometres inland
from the town of Wahai (2°48’S, 129°35’E) on the northern coast of
Seram, central Moluccas. The bird was one of two that had been captured
while feeding in a hollow, rotten tree stump in lowland tropical forest
inland from the village of Wasa (approximately 15 km south of Wahai).
The second bird later escaped from captivity. The remaining bird had
been captive for about one week, but had only been fed sugar water so that
it was emaciated and weighed only 1.35 kg. It was in moult, which may
explain the ease with which it was captured and the discrepancy 1n wing-
lengths. Measurements from the skin are as follows: wing-length,
330 mm (left)/316 mm (right), tail-length 247 mm, tarsus-length 82 mm,
bill-length 34.5mm. The skin is in the collections of the National
Museums of Scotland (reg. no. NMSZ 1992.006). On the basis of wing
measurements it is most similar in size to a male from Muisool Island,
which is nearest geographically (Table 1). However, because the
specimen from Seram was in moult, its wing feathers may not be fully
grown. It was not possible to sex this specimen, because the carcase was
eaten. The villagers describe the Blue Crowned Pigeon as being abundant
in lowland forests, but rarely caught because although it lives on the
ground it is easily alarmed and flies up into the trees for safety. It was only
because the birds were feeding inside a tree stump that it was possible to
approach and capture them. The villagers call the bird Mambruk, which is
not a universal name for pigeons, because, for example, the White-eyed
Imperial Pigeon Ducula perspicillata is called Pombo.

We did not observe any Blue Crowned Pigeons in lowland or alluvial
tropical forest during the three days that we were travelling through this
habitat. Unfortunately, we were not made aware of the possible presence
of this species until the end of our stay on Seram. It is possible that it could
have been imported to Seram, although a number of factors suggest that
this is not so. Firstly, local people have a unique local name for this bird,
which suggests that it is a familiar species in the local avifauna. Secondly,
they volunteered information as to its habits and habitat which conforms
to what is recorded in the literature (e.g. Goodwin 1970, Beehler et al.
1986). Thirdly, Wahaiis an active centre for the export of birds, especially

A. C. Kitchener et al. 43 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)
TABLE 1

Wing measurements of Blue Crowned Pigeons Goura
cristata minor from Waigeu, Misool and Seram (after
Ripley 1964, Mees 1965, P. Colston pers. comm.)

Sex Wing-length (mm)
Seram male? 316/330*
Misool males 325-335
Misool females 312-324
Waigeu males 350-365
Waigeu females 333-353

*Specimen in moult; wing feathers may not be fully
grown.

lories (Eos bornea, E. semilarvata), lorikeets (Trichoglossus haematodus)
and cockatoos (Cacatua moluccensis), to the neighbouring island of
Ambon and, thence, to Jakarta. No wild birds were recorded on the boat
coming to Seram from Ambon, but more than a hundred wild birds were
recorded travelling back to Ambon. Between 5,000 and 15,000 birds are
exported annually by one trader in Wahai, all of which are sent to Ambon.
It seems very unlikely that wild birds would be imported from New
Guinea via Ambon to be sold for food, when the local avifauna represents
an abundant and free source of protein and can be sold for money to
buy essentials such as salt. In addition, the people of Melinani are not
sufficiently wealthy to indulge themselves in the purchase of exotic birds
as pets or meals.

Acknowledgements

We thank Allison Andors of the American Museum of Natural History and Peter Colston of
the British Museum (Natural History) for measurements of crowned pigeons.

References:

Beehler, B. M., Pratt, T. K. & Zimmerman, D. A. 1986. Birds of New Guinea. Princeton
Univ Press.

Coates, B. J. 1985. The Birds of Papua New Guinea. Vol. 1. Dove Publications, Alderley.

Goodwin, D. 1970. Pigeons and Doves of the World. British Museum (Natural History).

Howard, R. & Moore, A. 1991. A Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. 2nd edn.
Academic Press.

Mees, G. F. 1965. The avifauna of Misool. Nova Guinea, Zool. 31: 139-203.

Ripley, S. D. 1964. A systematic and ecological study of birds of New Guinea. Bull. Peabody
Mus. Nat. Hist. 19: 1-87.

White, C. M. N. & Bruce, M. D. 1986. The Birds of Wallacea. B.O.U. Check-list no. 7.

Addresses: Andrew C. Kitchener and Philip Howard, Royal Museum of Scotland,
Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1JF. Alastair A. Macdonald, Department of Pre-

clinical Veterinary Sciences, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of
Edinburgh, Summerhall, Edinburgh EH9 1QH.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

R. Schodde 44 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

Geographic forms of the Regent Parrot Polytelis
anthopeplus (Lear), and their type localities

by Richard Schodde

Received 23 April 1992

The Australian Regent Parrot Polytelis anthopeplus occurs in two widely
disjunct populations: one through the wheat-belt of southwestern
Australia and the other in mallee and eucalypt woodlands along the
central Murray River in inland southeastern Australia. The western
isolate is moderately widespread and abundant (Serventy & Whittell
1976), but the more brilliantly plumaged population in the east has
become reduced to such fragmented enclaves that it is now gazetted
as rare and threatened (Burbidge 1985). Although Peters (1937) and
Forshaw (1969) did not accept any forms, Condon (1951, 1975), Lendon
(1973) and Forshaw (1978, 1981, 1989) agreed that the eastern enclave
averaged brighter yellow than the western; so they distinguished them
subspecifically. None of the reviews, however, were supported by
morphological analyses in detail.

Here 34 adult plumaged males and 17 females of the eastern population
in the Australian Museum, Sydney (AM), Australian National Wildlife
Collection, CSIRO, Canberra(ANWC), Museum of Victoria, Melbourne
(NMV), South Australian Museum, Adelaide (SAMA) and Western
Australian Museum, Perth (WAM) have been compared with 8 males and
10 females of the western group. Eastern males are a brilliant mustard
yellow over the head and ventral surface, dulling to mid olive on the
mantle; western males are a more muted olivine yellow ventrally, and
are deep, almost dusky-olive on the mantle, the dark cast from which
washes up over the head. There is some variation in depth of tone within
populations, particularly on the mantle, and in a reddish wash around the
vent. One additional western male, WAM7379 from an anonymous
source with unspecified locality, equalled eastern males in brightness of
ventral yellow, cf. anecdotal field observations by Forshaw (1981). With
an unworn bill (culmen from cere 20.5 mm), it may well have been a caged
bird transported from eastern states; it is excluded from the table of
measurements (Table 1). Differences between females parallel those
between males to a lesser extent, eastern females being mid olive-yellow
over the face and ventral surface, approaching western males in tone.
Western females average slightly duller and more greenish olive, with an
often smaller patch of citrine on the lesser wing coverts (‘shoulders’).
Broad sulphur edging to the inner margins of the remiges appears to
reflect juvenility, but may be less marked in eastern than western popu-
lations. Overall, the contrast in colouring between the sexes is greater in
eastern than western populations.

Indexed by length of wing and bill, eastern males average slightly and
significantly larger than those in the west (Table 1). Comparisons in
length of tail are untrustworthy because of wear. Western males also
differ less from females in size (Table 1), in parallel with lessened

R. Schodde 45 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)
TABLE 1

Mean measurements (mm), with one standard deviation, of eastern and western Australian

series of the Regent Parrot Polytelis anthopeplus in Australian museum collections, and the

significance of their differences by t-test at the 5% level of probability. *Indicates
P<0.05 >0.1; NS indicates P>0.05 (not significant)

Wing Culmen
Population n (flattened chord) Tail (from cere)
Eastern 33 34 200.9, 5.8 223.5, 8.0 18.4, 0.9
Western 33 8 194.3, 5.6 223.0, 9.1 17.1, 0.6
t DES 8iG5) 0.02 (NS) 2.42 (*)
Eastern 2° 17 195.9, 5.7 205.9, 8.3 18.4, 1.0
Western 29 10 194.5, 4.5 198.0, 7.3 17.4, 0.7
t 0.73 (NS) 2.50 (*) 2.01 (NS)

dimorphism in their plumage. Such differentiation in both colour and
size reflects allopatric divergence. Eastern and western populations have
been separated from one another by alien habitat for at least 25,000 years
since the onset of the last dry glacial epoch, and probably for considerably
longer (cf. Bowler 1982, Bowler & Wasson 1983).

Three namesare available for the two subspecies: Palaeornis anthopeplus
Lear, 1831, Palaeornis melanura Lear, 1832 and Polytelis anthopeplus
westralis Mathews, 1915. Both of Lear’s names, based on a female and
adult male respectively, were published on plates in his Illustrations of the
Family of Psittacidae, or Parrots, 1830-1832, without description or indi-
cation of their Australian source. Since Mathews’ (1912) first subspecific
list of Australian birds in 1913, they have been presumed to apply to the
eastern population and given the type locality of New South Wales (e.g.
Peters 1937, Condon 1975). P. a. westralis Mathews, type locality
southwest Australia, is based on the western form. Lear’s (1830-2)
superb figures of Palaeornis anthopeplus and P. melanura, nevertheless,
also match the western form. The male (melanura) on plate 28 approaches
it most closely, the dusky olive of its mantle washing up on to the crown
and over the face. The female (anthopeplus) on plate 29 is dull as well, with
a mid greenish wash around the neck, similar to the figure of a syntype
of Polytelis anthopeplus westralis Mathews on plate 296 in Mathews
(1916-7).

Historical circumstances are coincident. The only specimens of the
eastern form taken before the publication of Lear’s names were collected
by Charles Sturt on his epic exploration of the Murray River in early
1830. The two skins that he preserved out of the dozen or so shot (Sturt
1834, pl. opp. p. 191) were sent directly to the University Museum at
Edinburgh, Scotland, where Lear could hardly have seen them; one, a
female, is still extant (Stenhouse 1930).

Southwestern Australia instead is the likely provenance of the Regent
Parrots that Lear figured in 1831 and 1832. Lear drew the subjects for
his folio from specimens shipped alive from colonial outposts to the
menageries of the Zoological Society of London, Lord Stanley and N. A.
Vigors, and as skins to the collection of the Zoological Society or London

R. Schodde 46 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)
dealers such as B. and J. Leadbeater (Hyman 1980: 20—22, Tree 1991:38).

In southwestern Australia, Regent Parrots range south on the west coast
to beyond the Swan River, which was settled from 1829, and west on the
south coast towards King George Sound (Albany), which was garrisoned
in 1826. ‘That Lear had parrots and cockatoos available from Albany, at
least, for this folio is clear from his figures of Calyptorhynchus baudinii
Lear, and probably Platycercus stanleyii Vigors=P. icterotis icterotis
(Kuhl), Platycercus pileatus Vigors = Purpureicephalus spurius (Kuhl) and
Platycercus bauert Lear = Barnardius zonarius semitorquatus (Quoy and
Gaimard) (Lear 1830-32). Perhaps significantly, Lear’s plates of both
Calyptorhynchus baudini and Palaeornis melanura are annotated with
the same English source: “‘in the possession of Mr Leadbeater’’. Some
parrots and cockatoos illustrated by Lear are found in the eastern range of
the Regent Parrot; but these species—Cacatua leadbeateri leadbeateri and
Barnardius zonarius barnardi—extend much further east. Along with
Lear’s Palaeornis rosaceus = Polytelis swainsoni (Desmarest, 1826), they
were probably trapped by local expeditions and colonists out from the
newly established settlements along the Macquarie River, New South
Wales, in the 1820s.

Unfortunately, the name-bearing types (here holotypes) of anthopeplus
Lear and melanura Lear are almost certainly lost. Neither is cited as
having passed to the British Museum (Natural History) by Sharpe (1906:
514-5), Salvadori (1891: 480) or Warren (1966). To avert further arbi-
trary or argumentative association of the names anthopeplus and melanura
with the eastern form, a single neotype is designated here for both names
upon the recommendation of the Taxonomic Advisory Committee of the
Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union. It is WAM A7095, a female
from Bolgart, c. 40 km north of Toodyay, southwestern Australia. By this
action, Palaeornis melanura Lear becomes a junior objective synonym of
P. anthopeplus Lear. The eastern form, in turn, lacks a name which is
provided herewith:

Polytelis anthopeplus monarchoides subsp. nov.

Holotype. ANWC 42432, male adult, leg. R. Schodde at Kingston,
12 km west of Barmera, South Australia, 6 November 1989.

Paratypes. AM 0.17892 male, ANWC 42433 male, ANWC 14821
female, NMV B.18436 male, SAMA B.46511 male.

Diagnosis. Males brilliant mustard yellow ventrally, washing over face
and head; mantle mid, rarely dark olive. Females mid olive-yellow over
face and ventral surface with reduced greenish tint, citrine patch on
lesser wing coverts (‘shoulders’) variably large. Size large, with sexual
dimorphism in wing length: male wings 190—214 (mean 201) mm, female
wings 187—210 (mean 196) mm.

Etymology. monarchoides, from the Greek ‘‘resembling a ruler or
monarch’’, paraphrases the English name for this elegant parrot, the
largest of its genus.

Distribution. Central Murray River and fringing mallee woodlands in
inland southeast Australia, east to Balranald and Swan Hill (formerly
Echuca), south to Wyperfeld and Jeparit (formerly southern Wimmera

R. Schodde 47 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

and Bordertown), west to Karoonda and Waikerie (formerly Keith,
Murray Bridge and Mt Mary Plains), and north to Gluepot, Canopus,
Pooncarie and Arumpo. Within these limits, distribution is patchy.

Acknowledgements

Iam indebted to the South Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service for permission to
sample the eastern population of the Regent Parrot in 1988-1989, to Messrs I. J. Mason and
J. C. Wombey for assistance, and to the Australian National Library for references.

References:

Bowler, J. M. 1982. Aridity in the late Tertiary and Quaternary of Australia. Pp. 3445 in
W. R. Barker & P. J. M. Greenslade (eds), Evolution of the Flora and Fauna of Arid
Australia. Peacock Press, Adelaide.

Bowler, J. M. & Wasson, R. J. 1983. Glacial age environments of inland Australia. Pp. 183—
208 in J. C. Vogel (ed.), Late Cainozoic Palaeoclimates of the Southern Hemisphere.
A. A. Balkema, Rotterdam.

Burbidge, A. 1985. The Regent Parrot. A report on the breeding distribution and habitat
requirements along the Murray River in south-eastern Australia. Australian National
Parks and Wildlife Service Report Series No. 4. Canberra.

Condon, H. T. 1951. Notes on the birds of South Australia: occurrence, distribution and
taxonomy. S. Aust. Ornithol. 20:26—-68.

Condon, H. T. 1975. Checklist of the Birds of Australia, Pt. 1. Non-passerines. Royal
Australasian Ornithologists Union, Melbourne.

Forshaw, J. M. 1969. Australian Parrots. Lansdowne Press, Melbourne.

Forshaw, J. M. 1978. Parrots of the World. 2 edn. Lansdowne Editions, Melbourne.

Forshaw, J. M. 1981. Australian Parrots. 2 edn. Lansdowne Editions, Melbourne.

Forshaw, J. M. 1989. Parrots of the World. 3 (revised) edn. Lansdowne Editions, Sydney.

Hyman, S. 1980. Edward Lear’s Birds. Wellfleet Press, Secaucus, New Jersey.

Lear, E. 1830-2 (as 1832). Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae, or Parrots. E. Lear,
London.

Lendon, A. H. 1973. Neville W. Cayley’s Australian Parrots in Field and Aviary. Angus and
Robertson, Sydney.

Mathews, G. M. 1912. A reference-list to the birds of Australia. Novit. Zool. 18:171-446.

Mathews, G. M. 1916-7. The Birds of Australia. Vol. 6. Witherby & Co., London.

Peters, J. L. 1937. Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 3. Museum of Comparative Zoology,
Harvard.

Salvadori, T. 1891. Family Psittacidae. Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. 20:1—658.

Serventy, D. L. & Whittell, H. M. 1976. Birds of Western Australia. 5 edn. University of
Western Australia Press, Perth.

Sharpe, R. B. 1906. Birds. Hist. Coll. Nat. Hist. Depts. Brit. Mus. 2:79-515.

Stenhouse, J. H. 1930. Birds collected by Captain Sturt in 1830 on the ‘“‘Banks of the River
Murray’’. Emu 30:138-140.

Sturt, C. 1834. Two Expeditions into the Interior of Southern Australia, during the years 1828,
1829, 1830 and 1831. Vol. 2. Smith, Elder & Co., London.

Tree, 1. 1991. The Ruling Passion of John Gould. A Biography of the Bird Man. Barrie &
Jenkins, London.

Warren, R. L. M. 1966. Type-specimens of Birds in the British Museum (Natural History).
1. Non-Passeres. British Museum (Natural History), London.

Address : R. Schodde, Australian National Wildlife Collection, CSIRO Division of Wildlife
and Ecology, PO 84, Lyneham, ACT 2602, Australia.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

D.M. Teixeira et al. 48 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)
Notes on some birds of northeastern Brazil (5)

by Dante Martins Teixeira, Roberto Otoch, Giovanini Luigi,
Marcos A. Raposo & Antonio Claudio C. de Almeida

Received 1 April 1992

This report follows Teixeira et al. (1986, 1987, 1988, 1989), and records
some of the results obtained by the Ornithological Section of Museu
Nacional during the expeditions to northeastern Brazil of the last few
years. Specimens in the collections of Museu Nacional (MN), United
States National Museum (USNM) and British Museum Natural
History (BMNH) are referred to by the initials plus the respective
catalogue number. English names and the sequence of species follow
Meyer de Schauensee (1970).

BROWN PELICAN Pelecanus occidentalis

The wide-ranging Brown Pelican has been recorded in coastal Amapa
and from the Amazon mouth, and as a vagrant in the interior of Brazil in
Roraima (Pinto 1978, Sick 1985). Except for the doubtful observation by
Mitchell (1957), apparently there is no record of this bird further to the
south. However, a single individual was observed by A. C. de Almeida
on Mar Grande beach, near Itaparica island, ‘Todos os Santos bay, Bahia

(c. 13°00’S, 38°42'W), in December 1982.

TRICOLOURED HERON Hydranassa tricolor

Except for a vagrant observed by Oren (1984) on Fernando de
Noronha, this snecies has been recorded only along the extreme northern
Brazilian coast, from Amapa and the Amazon mouth south to Piaui (Pinto
1978, Sick 1985). On 6 May 1982, it was possible to observe an isolated
individual on a lake near Quixada, in the dry interior of central Ceara
(c. 4°58'S, 39°01’W). This is an unusual record, as the Tricoloured Heron
typically inhabits the coastal wetlands, especially mangroves.

CAPPED HERON Pilherodius pileatus

Widely distributed in Brazil, but not hitherto recorded from the
extreme northeast (Pinto 1964, 1978). However, it is a common bird in
the wetlands of Aiuaba, southern Ceara (c. 6°38’'S, 40°07’W), where we
observed several individuals in February 1990.

PLUMBEOUS IBIS Harpiprion caerulescens

Only known previously from Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina
and adjacent parts of Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul and Mato Grosso; Blake
1977, Pinto 1978). On 31 October 1989, R. Otoch recorded some vagrants
on a dam near Iguatu, southern Ceara (c. 6°32’S, 39°18’W), side by side
with the Buff-necked Ibis Theristicus caudatus, which is very common in
the region.

SCARLET IBIS Eudocimus ruber

Except for a small population on the southeastern Brazilian coast, the
Scarlet Ibis survives only in Amapa south to Maranhao, with scattered
records from Piaui and Ceara attributed to vagrants (Teixeira & Best

D.M. Teixeira et al. 49 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

1981, Teixeira et al. 1990). The species is, however, not uncommon in the
mangroves at the mouth of Acarau river, extreme northwestern coast of
Ceara (c. 2°53’S, 40°07’'W), but its status there is uncertain.

AMERICAN FLAMINGO Phoenicopterus ruber

According to some fishermen of coastal Ceara, forty years ago the
American Flamingo was a common bird at the mouth of Acarau river.
Nowadays, this species is extinct in the northeast, and its range in Brazil
seems to be reduced to the north coast of Amapa (Teixeira & Best 1981).

YELLOW-BILLED PINTAIL Anas georgica

In Brazil, this species occurs from Rio Grande do Sul north to
Sao Paulo (Pinto 1978), and there is a single record from the Uraricoera
river, Roraima (Shattuck, zm Pinto 1966). However, a total of seven adult
Yellow-billed Pintails were observed in Ceara by R. Otoch during
April 1979 (Massape, c. 3°31’S, 40°20’W), March 1980 (Jaguaribe,
c. 5°53’'S, 38°37’'W) and May 1983 (Aracati, c. 4°34'S, 37°46’W).

BLUE-WINGED TEAL Anas discors

This northern migrant, locally recorded in Brazil (Pinto 1978, Sick
1985), seems to be rather common during the austral summer
(November—December) in several lagoons and salt-ponds of coastal
Ceara, for example in Acarau and near Camocim (c. 2°54’S, 40°50’W).

COLLARED FOREST-FALCON Micrastur semitorquatus

Widely distributed in Brazil, but not hitherto recorded from the
extreme northeast (Pinto 1978). However, it is a common species 1n the
semideciduous highland forests of southern Ceara, and we obtained a
young male (MN 36282, gonads 7 mm, 510 g, 505 mm total length) from
Chapada do Araripe, near Crato (c. 7°14’'S, 30°23’W) in March 1989.

DOUBLE-STRIPED THICK-KNEE Burhinus bistriatus

In Brazil, this species has been recorded from the open grasslands of
Roraima and Amapa (Novaes 1974, Pinto 1978). Rather surprisingly,
two individuals were observed in 1984 by R. Otoch on the dunes of
Jericoacoara, coastal Ceara (c. 2°48’S, 40°29’W).

VIOLACEOUS QUAIL-DOVE Geotrygon violacea

The presence of G. violacea in northeastern Brazil seems to be based on
a single male from Usina Sinimbu, Alagoas (c. 9°55’S, 36°08’W), men-
tioned by Pinto & Camargo (1961). We have also observed this species in
the forest remnants of Murici (c. 9°47'S, 36°50'W).

YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO Coccyzus americanus

A northern migrant and regular visitor to South America, the Yellow-
billed Cuckoo has been spottily recorded in Brazil. The MN obtained an
adult male (MN 36840, gonads 2mm, 56g, 305 mm total length) from
Fazenda Cachoeira (c. 5°20'S, 30°20’W), near Quixeramobim, central
Ceara, on 18 March 1990.

COMMON NIGHTHAWK Chordeiles minor

Widely distributed in Brazil, but not hitherto recorded from the north-
east, this nighthawk seems to be a rather common species in the Chapada
do Araripe, southern Ceara, where the MN obtained an adult female
(gonads 3 mm, 75 g, 270 mm total length) on 15 March 1989.

D.M. Teixeira et al. 50 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

FORK-TAILED WOODNYMPH Thalurania furcata

In northeastern Brazil recorded from Piaui to Bahia (Pinto 1978). We
obtained one male (MN 36865, gonads 1 mm, 4.4 g, 129 mm total length)
and two females (MN 36866, 36867, gonads 1 mm, 4.1 and 4g, 107 mm
total length) from the highland forests of Guaramiranga, Serra de
Baturite, Ceara (c. 4°15’S, 38°56’W), in February 1990.

SPOTTED PICULET Picumnus pygmaeus

Previously known only from southern Maranhao and Piaui to
Bahia (Meyer de Schauensee 1966, Pinto 1978). It also occurs in the
dry caatinga near Santo Antonio da Pindoba, western Ceara
(c. 35°07'S, 41°04’W), whence we obtained an adult female (MN 36884,
gonads 4mm, 11 g, 106 m total length) on 24 March 1990.

WEDGE-BILLED WOODCREEPER Glyphorynchus spirurus

In eastern Brazil, this woodcreeper has been recorded from northern
Espirito Santo to southern Bahia (Sick 1985). However, it seems to be
more widespread than formerly believed, and we have observed several
individuals on Itaparica island and also near Camamu (c. 13°57’S,
39°07'W), northern Bahia.

STRAIGHT-BILLED WOODCREEPER Xiphorhynchus picus

Teixeira et al. (1988) attributed to X. spixii, an Amazonian species,
a subadult woodcreeper collected in Serra de Baturité, Ceara, on
8 February 1986. Recently, we have had the opportunity to obtain
additional material from the same locality and, as a result, we consider
that this bird is the subadult of X. picus, which seems to be undescribed
until now. It is notable that immatures of X. picus are rather similar to
adults of X. spixii in their slender, slightly curved and blackish bill, and
the light buff coloration of the throat and streaks on the underparts.

BLACK-BILLED SCYTHEBILL Campylorhamphus falcularius

Previously known only from Argentina, Paraguay and southeastern
Brazil (from Rio Grande do Sul north to Espirito Santo and eastern
Minas Gerais; Pinto 1978), this species also occurs in the northeast. On 3
October 1983 we obtained an adult female (MN 34302, gonads 9mm,
38 g, 248 mm total length) from the semideciduous forests of Boa Nova,
Bahia (c. 14°32’S, 40°22’W).

PECTORAL ANTWREN Hlerpsilochmus pectoralis

Only known from Maranhao and Bahia, this species seems to be more
widespread in northeastern Brazil than previously believed. According
to our latest observations, H. pectoralis is a very common formicariid
in the wooded restingas of Baia Formosa, Rio Grande do Norte

(4622/5535, 00LWN)):

ORANGE-BELLIED ANTWREN Terenura sick

Known from a few localities of Alagoas and adjacent parts of
Pernambuco (Teixeira 1987), the Orange-bellied Antwren also occurs in
highland forests of northern Pernambuco, near the Paraiba borders. We
have observed several individuals at Engenho Agua Azul, municipality of
Timbauba (c. 7°31'S, 35°19’W) in May 1989.

D. M. Teixeira et al. 51 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

BUFF-THROATED PURPLETUFT Lodopleura pipra

Described 1n 1885, Jodopleura pipra leucopygia is based 1n two males of
unknown origin. As mentioned by Snow (1982), these specimens
(BMNH 88120969, 88120970) were obtained by Salvin from H. Whitely
senior, a well-known London dealer in natural history material, and were
considered to come from British Guiana; but Snow suggested the possi-
bility that they might have come from somewhere in northeastern Brazil.
During recent years, we confirmed that this cotingid inhabits the Atlantic
Forests of northeastern Brazil, whence we obtained an adult female
(MN 36379, gonads 5mm, 10.5 g, 105mm total length) and an adult
male (MN 36380, gonads 2mm, 9.6g, 101mm total length) from
Mamanguape, coastal Paraiba (c. 6°50’'S, 35°07’W) in May 1989. It may
also be noted that the USNM houses a fifth skin (USNM 536504), an
adult female by plumage, collected by W. L. Ellison in Garanhuns,
Pernambuco (c. 8°54’S, 36°29’W) in July 1957. This material is presently
under study, and we stress that J. pipra leucopygia differs considerably
from the nominate form of the species by the broad white rump-band,
contrasting superciliary stripe and extensively whitish underparts. This
pattern resembles the plumage of the White-browed Purpletuft Jodo-
pleura isabellae in some aspects, and may explain the record of this species
from Murici (Teixeira et al. 1987), which in fact must be attributed to J.
pipra leucopygia. This cotinga seems to be not uncommon in the forest
remnants of northeastern Brazil, and some other individuals have
even been observed in the urban area of Joao Pessoa, Paraiba
(c. 7°07'S, 34°52’W), feeding on the fruits of Phthirusa pyrtfolia
(Loranthaceae) in the canopy.

WOOD PEWEE Contopus virens

A winter visitor, only recorded previously in western Amazonian
Brazil (Meyer De Schauensee 1966, Sick 1985). We obtained a young
female (MN 36400, gonads 2mm, 14g, 151mm total length) from
the semideciduous forests of Chapada do Araripe, southern Ceara, on 24

March 1989.

BUFF-BREASTED TODY-TYRANT J/dioptilon mirandae

According to the South American ornithological literature
(Meyer de Schauensee 1966, Fitzpatrick & O’ Neill 1979, etc.) this tyran-
nid is only known from four localities of northeastern Brazil. However, it
is a very common species throughout a rather extensive range, which
includes the humid highland forests of Ceara (e.g. Serra de Ibiapaba,
Serra de Baturite) and also the hinterland semideciduous forests of
Paraiba (Areia, c. 6°58'S, 35°42’W), Pernambuco (Garanhuns and Lagoa
do Ouro, c. 9°16'S, 36°20’W) and Alagoas (Quebrangulo, c. 9°20'S,
36°29'W).

BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER Dendroica fusca

A winter visitor, only recorded previously from extreme northern
Amazonian Brazil (Roraima; Sick 1985). We obtained an adult female
(MN 36450, gonads 1mm, 8.5g, 130mm total length) from the
semideciduous forest of Chapada do Araripe, southern Ceara, on

21 March 1989.

D. M. Teixeira et al. 52 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the World Wildlife Fund—US and the Brazilian Conselho
Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq), which partially supported
our studies on the avifauna of northeastern Brazil. We also thank Dr M. Ralph Browning
(United States National Museum) and Prof. Carlos A. de Miranda (Universidade Federal
da Paraiba) for the information they gave us.

References:

Blake, E. R. 1977. A Manual of Neotropical Birds. Vol. 1. Univ. Chicago Press.

Fitzpatrick, J. W. & O’Neill, J. P. 1979. A new tody-tyrant from northern Peru. Auk 96:
443447.

Meyer de Schauensee, R. 1966. The Species of Birds of South America with their Distribution.
Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia.

Meyer de Schauensee, R. 1970. A Guide to the Birds of South America. Acad. Nat. Sci.,
Philadelphia.

Mitchell, M. H. 1957. Observations on Birds of Southeastern Brazil. Univ. Toronto Press.

Novaes, F. C. 1974. Ornitologia do territorio do Amapa. Publ. Avuls. Mus. Goeldi 25: 1-121.

Oren, D. C. 1984. Resultados de uma nova expedi¢ao zoologica a Fernando de Noronha.
Bol. Mus. Paraense Emilio Goeldi ( Zool.) 1: 19-44.

Pinto, O. M. O. 1964. Ornitologia brasiliense. Depto. de Zool., Secretaria de Agricultura,
Sao Paulo.

Pinto, O. M. O. 1966. Estudo critico e catdlogo remissivo das aves do territorio Federal de
Roraima. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazoénia, Manaus.

Pinto, O. M. O. 1978. Novo catalogo das aves do Brasil. Conselho Nacional de
Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq), Sao Paulo.

Pinto, O. M. O. & Camargo, E. A. 1961. Resultados ornitologicos de quatro recentes
expedicdes do Departamento de Zoologia ao nordeste do Brasil. Arg. Zool. S. Paulo 11:
193-284.

Sick, H. 1985. Ornitologia Brasileira: uma introdugao. Editora Universidade de Brasilia.

Snow, D. 1982. The Cotingas. British Museum (Natural History) and Oxford University

Press.
Teixeira, D. M. 1987. Notas sobre Terenura sicki. Bol. Mus. Paraense Emilio Goeldi (Zool.)
3: 241-251.

Teixeira, D. M. & Best, R. C. 1981. Notas sobre a ornitologia do Territorio Federal do
Amapa. Bol. Mus. Paraense Emilio Goeldi 104: 1-25.

Teixeira, D. M., Nacinovic, J. B. & Dujardin, J. L. 1990. Notas sobre la distribuicion y
conservacion de Eudocimus ruber en Brasil. The Scarlet [bis (Eudocimus ruber ) : status,
conservation and recent research. 1WRB Special Publications no. 11: 124-129.

Teixeira, D. M., Nacinovic, J. B. & Tavares, M.S. 1986. Notes on some birds of northeast-
ern Brazil. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 106: 70-74.

Teixeira, D. M., Nacinovic, J. B. & Pontual, F. B. 1987. Notes on some birds of northeast-
ern Brazil (2). Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 107: 151-157.

Teixeira, D. M., Nacinovic, J. B. & Luigi, G. 1988. Notes on some birds of northeastern
Brazil (3). Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 108: 75-79.

Teixeira, D. M., Nacinovic, J. B. & Luigi, G. 1989. Notes on some birds of northeastern
Brazil (4). Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 109: 152-157.

Address: Dante Martins Teixeira et al. Segao de Ornitologia, Museu Nacional, Quinta da
Boa Vista, Rio de Janeiro (RJ), CEP 20940—040 Brazil.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

C. Yamashita & M. de P. Valle 53 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

On the linkage between Anodorhynchus macaws
and palm nuts, and the extinction of the
Glaucous Macaw

by Carlos Yamashita & Mauro de Paula Valle
Received 2 April 1992

The genus Anodorhynchus is represented by blue macaws with huge heads
(Sick et al. 1987) and powerful bills. All of them have bare skin around
the eye and at the base of the lower mandible (Forshaw 1973, Sick et al.
1987). The three recognised species in this group, Hyacinthine Macaw
A. hyacinthinus, Lear’s Macaw A. leari and Glaucous Macaw A. glaucus,
are South American and clearly monophyletic. The first split among
them was probably between hyacinthinus and glaucus-leari. The glaucus-
leart branch was isolated in marginal, semi-arid eastern habitats, and later
differentiated into two forms, the Glaucous Macaw in chaco vegetation in
the south and Lear’s Macaw in caatinga vegetation in the north (Vielliard
1979). Considerable doubt attaches to another hypothetical member of
the genus, which may have inhabited Guadaloupe in the West Indies,
according to accounts by early travellers (Greenway 1967).

This genus of macaws has the strongest “‘square chisel’? on the
gnathotheca, the horny part of the lower mandible, among all Psittaci-
formes. The Hyacinthine and Lear’s Macaws use the cutting edge of the
chisel as a wedge to split palm nuts in two. Information on these two
species, independent of phytogeographical information, suggests that the
distribution of the genus is closely linked to palm groves. They are highly
specialised macaws, subsisting almost entirely on palm nuts (Sick et al.
1987, Munn et al. 1987, Yamashita 1987, Brandt & Machado 1990).

The status of the genus today is critical. The Glaucous Macaw is
extinct, the other two species endangered. Surveys carried out in the last
few years show that Lear’s Macaw persists in a tiny population of about
60 individuals (Yamashita 1987, Brandt & Machado 1990), while the
population of the Hyacinthine Macaw has been estimated at between
2500 and 5000 individuals, and is declining (Munn et al. 1987). The
group has suffered from excessive trapping and from the decline of palm
groves in the semi-arid region.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the specialisation of the feeding
habit on palm nuts by Anodorhynchus and to present arguments about the
relationship of the Glaucous Macaw and its process of extinction.

Historical data on the Glaucous Macaw

Comments on the Glaucous Macaw were first published by Sanchez
Labrador (1767) who wrote that the Guaa’-obi lived along the banks of the
Uruguay River, and to a lesser extent, in the forest near the Paraguay
River (Castex 1962-63). In the Guarani language of these regions guaa is
an onomatopoeic name for macaw, and the word obi (hovy) is a colour
gradient from blue to green.

C. Yamashita & M. de P. Valle 54 Bull. B.O.C.1993 113(1)

The species was described by Vieillot in 1816, as Anodorhynchus glaucus,
based on Azara (1805). Vieillot assumed ‘Paraguay’ as the home of the
species, a general name then fora region of southern South America. Azara
lived in South America from 1781 to 1801. As an officer of the King of
Spain, in order to establish the limits between the territories of Spain and
Portugal, he measured the degrees of latitude continuously during his
travels. He wrote that the Guaa’-hovy was a common bird along the banks
of the Parana and Uruguay Rivers between 27° and 29° S, and was told that
the species reached 33° S on the Uruguay River (Azara 1805).

‘There are about seventeen skins of Glaucous Macaw, but only three of
them, from the US National Museum, give reasonable mention of prov-
enance. These three specimens were collected during the “Exploration of
Parana’ by U.S. Navy Expeditions in the 1850s. The labels of these
specimens show Corrientes as their provenance. One of the labels also
says ‘‘Ararana’’, whereas in the T'upi-Guarani language “‘arara”’ refers to
‘common macaw’. The Glaucous specimen is thus likely to have been
recognised as a distinctive species. "The specimens were described as
A. cinereus in the registration book of the museum. Probably other
specimens were collected by that expedition, as indicated by a letter
of Cassin to Page (Page 1859). However, there is no specimen in the
Philadelphia Academy of Sciences, where Cassin worked, and we do not
know the destination of these skins. It is possible that they had gone to
the U.S. National Museum, but we do not have concrete evidence. In
addition, we could not find reference to Page’s ‘“Second Exploration of
Parana’.

Feeding specialisation of Anodorhynchus macaws
Method of study

In order to compare available measurements of the bill apparatus
between palm nut specialists and non-specialists, measurements of the
chisel width of three Anodorhynchus and another 13 species were taken
in preserved specimens in the AMNH, USNM, BMNH, MNRJ and
MUSP. Palm nuts opened by macaws were collected to illustrate the
different pattern of cuts in these two groups.

A satisfactory analysis can be made of the Hyacinthine Macaw’s feed-
ing habits. Four species of colonial palms are distributed in the Paraguay
basin region: Copernicia alba (‘‘Caranda’’), Acrocomia cf. aculeata
(““Bocaiuva’’), Scheelea phalerata (‘“‘Acuri’) and Orbignia martiana
‘‘Babassu’’). Measurements of diameter on samples of nuts of these palms
were taken and compared with the measurements of chisel width of the
Hyacinthine Macaw. C. alba and A. aculeata nuts (diameters measured
on the middle axis) are small in relation to the apparatus of the
Hyacinthine Macaw. In the case of S. phalerata and O. martiana nuts,
whose size and shape do not permit the macaws to cut them in the middle,
the measurements are taken from the lateral part of the longer axis.
This position was defined as a distance of 23 mm from the extremity of
S. phalerata nuts by Hyacinthine Macaws. The sample of nuts used for
analysis consisted of unused nuts, without mesocarp and exocarp,
collected randomly in the Paraguay basin.

C. Yamashita & M. de P. Valle 55 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)
TABLE 1

Chisel width measurements of macaws and some other parrots

Range
n (mm) Mean s.d.
Non palm-nut specialists
Ara nobilis 5) 6.6-7.8 7.4 0.28
Ara manilata 7 6.8-8.1 7.4 0.28
Ara severa 4 7.2-7.8 1S 0.23
Ara maracana 7 7.2-8.3 da) 0.33
Ara auricollis 6 7.6-8.4 TS) 0.15
Cyanoliseus patagonus 2 7.8-8.5 8.1
Ognorhynchus icterotis 1 9.3 9.3
Guaruba guarouba 6 9.4-10.8 10.4 0.36
Cyanopsitta spixii 5 7.0-7.6 Ue 0.25
Ara rubrogenys 1 11.6 11.6
Ara ararauna 14 10.8-11.9 13 0.24
Ara macao 16 11.2-13.5 22. 0.62
Ara chloroptera 14 13.8-17.6 15.4 0.98
Palm-nut specialists

Anodorhynchus leari 7 19.0-26.8 22.4 2.60
Anodorhynchus glaucus 8 22.0—26.0 24.2 1.40
Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus 10 26.3-32.7 30.6 1.76

Note. In the large macaws, chisel width is not proportional to size. Species of similar weight,
e.g. A. leari, A. ararauna and A. macao, can have very difterent chisel widths; A. rubrogenys
is smaller than A. ararauna but has a wider chisel. Some conures have very wide chisels in
proportion to their size.

We also measured the cut-edge diameter of S. phalerata and Syagrus
coronata nuts opened by Hyacinthine Macaw and Lear’s Macaw respect-
ively. Using these data we calculated a ratio between chisel size and size of
opened nuts, and from this derived a likely value for the diameter of nuts
suitable for use by the Glaucous Macaw. We present measurements of
Butia yatay nuts (probably the main food of Glaucous Macaws) from a
cultivated specimen.

Results and discussion

Species of the genus Anodorhynchus show the highest value for chisel
width among the macaws (Table 1). A comparison of nuts that had been
cut by Anodorhynchus with nuts cut by Ara chloroptera (Fig. 1) well
illustrates the difference between the palm-nut specialist and the
non-specialist. There is no doubt that Anodorhynchus spp. are highly
specialised to exploit palm nuts; no other animal can cut a palm nut
so cleanly.

However, this group of macaws is highly selective in relation to palm
species. Only asmall number of palms meet their requirements of size and
shape of nuts, and morphology of endosperm, which must be extractable
and have a pattern of lignin that permits its use. A feeding habit of this
kind, based on only one or a few species, results in a high degree of
dependency. Also, in the case of birds as large as Anodorhynchus, an

C. Yamashita S M. de P. Valle 56 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

8 <

EN ALT PLTTNT hse Aon
Mayr Perea diels 4 .

i VEC yy Ae is) 4

Figure 1. Palm nuts opened transversely by macaws. The nuts on the left were cut crudely
by a non palm-nut specialist, the other nuts were all cut with precision by a palm-nut
specialist. Left to right: “‘Bocaiuva’”’ palm (Acrocomia c.f. aculeata) cut by Red and Green
Macaw Ara chloroptera, “‘Acuri” palm (Scheelea phalerata) cut cleanly by Hyacinthine
Macaw Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus, ‘‘Licuri’’? palm (Syagrus coronata) cut cleanly by
Lear’s Macaw A. leari.

abundant supply of nuts is essential. This requirement can only be met by
colonial palms occurring in dense patches. According to Hauman (1919)
the colonial palm species have very special soil requirements.

In the Paraguay basin, Hyacinthine Macaws show a preference for nuts
of S. phalerata and, to a lesser extent, A. aculeata. Figure 2 shows that
S. phalerata has the most suitable size in relation to chisel size of the
macaw; A aculeata is smaller. In this area there are two other colonial
palm species which might be used. One of them, C. alba, has an unsuit-
able lignin pattern, while the other, O. martiana, has nuts that are too
large for the birds to be able to cut. So groves of these two palms are of no
importance to Hyacinthine Macaws.

When we compare the chisel width of Hyacinthine and Lear’s Macaws
with the diameter of the nuts that they exploit, we find a similar relation-
ship between their respective average values. The ratio of chisel width
to nut diameter is 1.39 for Lear’s and 1.19 for the Hyacinthine Macaw
(nut diameter for Lear’s Macaw: Syagrus coronatas, mean 17.1, range
14.2-20.6 mm; other measurements as in Table 1 and Figure 2). Using
the mean of these two ratios we can calculate a nut diameter that should
have been suitable for the Glaucous Macaw. The expected diameter
would be about 19mm. There are five colonial palm species in the
former range of the Glaucous Macaw: Copernicia alba (‘‘Carandai’’),
Syagrus [| Arecastrum ] ramazoffianum (‘‘Pindo’’), Trithrinax campestris,

C. Yamashita & M. de P. Valle 57 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

60

50
E
E
40
3
c
=
o
= X chisel width
30
c * isp
=! o Ses S StS SESS StS So SS > CS Pee aie ee Sere Hu eK husedieinuts:
©
o
E
& 20 O.martiana
mo] S phalerata
N=34(29.2 - 504)

N=44(21.5 -35.6) =
A-aculeata KERIB 7125S 4

ak +
n=30(17.2-22.1)).. %= 26-2- 2

X= 19.871-25

lida

c.aliba
N=50(8.2-10-5)
x2 9-3:0.54

Figure 2. Chisel width of Hyacinthine Macaw, and diameters of random samples of nuts of
sympatric colonial palm species in the Paraguay basin. Copernicia alba (nuts small, with
many vermiculate lignin walls in the endosperm) is not utilised. Acrocomia cf. aculeata and
Scheelea phalerata are eaten by Hyacinthine Macaws. Nuts of Orbignia martiana are spora-
dically used; because of their large size, only a very low percentage are available to the
macaws (less than 5°% in the sample measured). In other parts of the Hyacinthine Macaw’s
range palm-nut selection is similarly based on nut size and endosperm morphology.

Acrocomia aculeata (“‘Bocaja’’) and Butia yatay (‘‘Chatay’’). The lignin
pattern of ‘““Carandai’”’ had been mentioned earlier (see also Fig. 2); it is
unsuitable, as also is the lignin pattern of Trithrinax and ‘“‘Pindo”’ (which
on the basis of size would be suitable). ‘“Bocaja”’ has nuts of suitable size
and structure, but only occurs marginally, at the edge of the range of the
Glaucous Macaw. The only colonial palm species that has nuts of the
right size, with extractable endosperm free of lignin, is the ‘“‘Chatay”’
palm; its nuts (from our sample) have a mean diameter of 15.4 mm.

Extinction of the Glaucous Macaw

Labrador (1767) and Azara (1805) agree that the Glaucous Macaw was
associated with river-bank cliffs on the Uruguay River. Labrador (1767)

C. Yamashita & M. de P. Valle 58 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

wrote that the ‘‘Guaa’-obi” occurred to a lesser extent in forest near
the Paraguay River. It is possible that his ‘“‘Guaa’-obi’”’ refers to
the Hyacinthine Macaw at the southern limits of its range in northern
Paraguay, where it is rare, and only the bird from the Uruguay River
refers to the Glaucous Macaw. Nowadays in Paraguay, “‘Guaa’-hovy”’
is a commercial name of Hyacinthine Macaw. Also Sick et al. (1987)
mention possible identification problems between Hyacinthine and
Lear’s Macaws, so Labrador (1767) may have used the same name for
both species.

Azara (1805) said that the Glaucous Macaw was a common bird
between latitudes 27° and 29°S, a very restricted range slightly wider
than 200km. Comparing Azara’s data (1923) with current surveying
techniques, given the methods used in his day, each latitude could be in
error by 0.5°. He was told that the Glaucous Macaw on the Uruguay
River reached 33° S, which suggests that he did not personally see it so far
south, or that the bird used a very small area there or was locally extinct,
because he travelled through almost the entire Viceroy of La Plata (very
large portion of South America) during 20 years. We think it quite likely
that when the Glaucous Macaw was first reported by naturalists, the relict
population was already extremely local and declining.

Original accounts describing the Glaucous Macaw as a very common
bird are typical of a naturalist’s reaction when encountering a sedentary
and conspicuous population of any species of Anodorynchus. In some
localities Anodorynchus are very conspicuous, have a very high site-
fidelity, are noisy and travel daily in flocks along predictable flight
paths. For instance, biologists observing Lear’s Macaw, which now has a
very small population, have no difficulty in seeing the birds every day.
Likewise when visiting the correct sites, observers perceive Hyacinthine
Macaws as very abundant because of their high site-fidelity. Since
Hyacinthine and Lear’s Macaw specialise on palm nuts, it is very unlikely
that Glaucous Macaw did not as well. No doubt the Glaucous Macaw
suffered from the same process of palm grove decline as Lear’s Macaw is
experiencing today (Yamashita 1987, Brandt & Machado 1990). So far we
do not know what long-term effect cattle may have on palm groves used
by Hyacinthine Macaws. In the Pantanal region, this macaw is commonly
seen near the farm houses, which are on higher terrain also favoured by
the crucial colonial palms.

The available information on the Glaucous Macaw thus suggests a
very restricted range and problems with the decline of palm groves. Its
extinction, which seems not to be in doubt, was probably caused by the
long-term effect of the introduction of domestic herbivores. It is very well
known that in the La Plata region (former range of Glaucous Macaw)
palm groves subject to grazing pressure from cows tend to senesce and
decline (Hauman 1919, Castellanos & Ragonezi 1949). There has been no
palm regeneration in the range of this extinct macaw, and the remnant
palm groves are more than 200 years old (Castellanos & Ragonezi 1949).

During his fieldwork at the end of the 18th century, Azara’s expedition
mainly ate the meat of armadillo and feral cattle. We therefore know that,
by that time, feral cattle were already established. Since the European
colonisation of the La Plata region, more than 400 years ago, steady

C. Yamashita & M. de P. Valle 59 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

grazing pressure from introduced cattle has decreased the size and health
of ‘“Chatay’’ palm groves and few, if any, new trees have been recruited
into the population of reproducing palms. No Anodorynchus can survive
without healthy palm groves.

Finally, we may suggest a method that may yield additional infor-
mation. When feeding, all Anodorynchus often carry in their beak nuts or
pieces of raceme with nuts in order to open them in the top of a big tree or
on the side of a cliff. Where these macaws occur, these characteristically
severed pieces remain conspicuous for many years. Based on the fact that
Anodorynchus are such highly specialised feeders on palm nuts, it may be
possible to search for evidence of extinct (or hypothetical) Anodorynchus
in the Caribbean (e.g. A purpurescens) by searching for cracked nuts in
suitable palm habitats. This may also provide more precise dating for the
occurrence of the Glaucous Macaw within its former range, and may
enable its range to be defined more exactly.

Summary

Anodorynchus macaws are specialised palm-nut feeders, requiring dense stands of palms.
Based on our understanding of the two living species, we believe that the Glaucous Macaw
A. glaucus was a very specialised species, with a restricted distribution. In particular, we
believe that when first reported by naturalists, the relict population was already extremely
local and declining. This opinion is based on the relationship between palm-nut size and
structure and the macaw’s bill size, which indicates that only the ‘“‘Chatay”’ palm (Butia
yatay) could have been the Glaucous Macaw’s main food source. The ‘“‘Chatay”’ palm
groves suffered decline caused by the introduction of cattle, and today they are all senescent.

Acknowledgements

We thank L. A. Gonzaga, T. Pimentel, R. Cavalcanti, P. Colston, H. Schifter, M. Robbins,
G. F. Mees, J. F. Baud, C. Voisin, B. Farmer, C. S. Roselar, J. Vielliard and R. Gnam, who
kindly provided museum measurements or museum information. We are also grateful to
W. Bokermann, J. C. Guix, F. Rilla, J. Beddal, M. Nores and C. Bertonatti who sent us
historical papers on this subject. J. O. Oliveira sent ‘“‘Babassu’’ nuts and N. Guedes sent
“Chatay”’ nuts. M. Foster and the U.S. Navy provided copies of documents of ‘‘Exploration
of Parana’. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (H. Raffeal) and Conservation International
(S. Rigueira and R. Mittermeier) made it possible for one of us (CY) to see museum
specimens in the U.S.A. Finally we thank C. Munn, F. Simon, N. Collar and M. Kelsey
who revised an early draft of the text.

References:

Azara, F. 1805. Apuntamiento para la historia natural de los paxaros de Paraguay y Rio de La
Plata. Madrid.

Azara, F. 1923. Viajes por la America Meridional (1781-1801). Espasa Calpe, Madrid.

Brandt, A. & Machado, R. B. 1990. Area de alimentagao e comportamento alimentar de
Anodorhynchus leari. Ararajuba 1: 57-63.

Castellanos, A. & Ragonezi, A. E. 1949. Distribucion geografica de algunas palmas del
Uruguay. De Lilloa 20: 251-261.

Castex, M. N. 1962-63. Sanchez Labrador: Peces y aves del Paraguay Natural ilustrado,
1767. Compania General Fabril Ed., Buenos Aires.

Forshaw, J. M. 1973. The Parrots of the World. Lansdowne Press, Melbourne.

Src eey C. 1967. Extinct and Vanishing Birds of the World. 2nd ed. Dover Publications,
New York.

Hauman, L. 1919. Las palmeras de la fora argentina. Physis 4: 602-606.

Munn, C. A., Thomsen, J. B. & Yamashita, C. 1987. Survey and status of Hyacinth Macaw
(Anodorynchus hyacinthinus ) in Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. Unpubl. MS.

Page, T. J. 1859. La Plata, the Argentine Confederation, and Paraguay. Harper & Brothers,
New York.

Sick, H., Gonzaga, L. A. & Teixeira, D. M. 1987. A Arara azul de Lear (Anodorynchus leari)
Bonaparte 1856. Rev. Bras. Zool. 3: 441-463.

E. O. Willis & Y. Oniki 60 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

Vielliard, J. 1979. Commentaires sur les aras du genre Anodorynchus. Alauda 47: 61-63.
Yamashita, C. 1987. Field observations and comments on Indigo Macaw (Anodorynchus
leari), a highly endangered species from northeastern Brazil. Wilson Bull. 99: 280-282.

Addresses: Carlos Yamashita, IBAMA—Instituto Brasileiro de Meio Ambiente e Recursos
Naturais Renovaveis, Al. Tiete 637, Sao Paulo 01417, Brazil. Mauro de Paula Valle,
Sociedade Brasileira de Ornitologia, SQN 116 BI. D apto 402, 70. 773-040 Brasilia—
DF, Brazil.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

On a Phoebetria specimen from southern Brazil

by Edwin O. Willis S Yoshika Oniki

Received 25 February 1992

A Phoebetria albatross from Sao Paulo, Brazil (Bertioga beach, 28 August
1954, Museum of Zoology of the University of Sao Paulo, MZUSP) was
identified as P. palpebrata by Pinto (1964) and Teixeira et al. (1988),
the latter doubting our identification (1985, based on a suggestion by
R. Grantsau) as P. fusca. The 1988 paper also cites a secondary source
(Sick 1985), but there is no evidence Sick had identified the specimen
himself. Sick overlooked September records of P. fusca off the Brazilian
coast from 33°22'S, 47°41'W to 28°45’S, 41°02’W (Rumboll & Jehl 1977).
P. palpebrata is a subantarctic species said to occur in southern Brazil
(Vooren & Fernandes 1989), although Rumboll recorded it only at and
below the subtropical convergence at 40°-45°S.

After re-examining the MZUSP specimen and others in the British
Museum (Natural History) and American Museum of Natural History
(New York), we confirm the Bertioga bird as P. fusca. It is a dark individ-
ual, slightly paler-bodied like all P. fusca (see picture in Sinclair 1987;
Teixeira et al. are incorrect in calling P. fusca “entirely sooty brown’’).

‘The specimen probably would not have been confused with whitish or
ashy-bodied P. palpebrata except for certain suggestions in Murphy
(1936), some repeated in later field guides. Specifically, we urge caution
in using his suggestions of culmen shape (as by Pinto 1964) and about
juveniles. Teixeira (pers. comm.) thought the MZUSP bird could not be
P. fusca because it has a dark orange mandibular stripe rather than the
orange one of adult P. fusca specimens, yet has pale shafts and dark
plumage that Murphy describes as adult.

First, the concave culmen that Murphy shows for P. palpebrata is
variable and changes with viewing angle; at any rate, we find the culmen of
the Sao Paulo specimen rather straight, contra Pinto (1964). The least
central depth of the closed bill is 25.0 mm, above averages of P. fusca
(24.9mm, s.d. 0.7; n=16) or P. palpebrata (23.7 mm, s.d. 1.4; n=9).
Although these means differ significantly (t=2.85, P<0.005), recent
field guides are probably right to omit this as a field character.

Second, young Phoebetria fusca have dusky primary shafts (Richard A.
Sloss, in litt.; downy birds at AMNH) but, contrary to Murphy (1936)

E. O. Willis & Y. Ontki 61 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

and later field guides, mostly pale shafts by the time they fly (Willis and
Sloss, AMNH no. 527083; P. R. Colston in litt., BMNH 1953-55-98).
Colston indicates that the last specimen has down on neck, breast and
flanks. BM 1953-55-97, also from Tristan da Cunha, is a similar bird
(“‘left the nest too soon”’ and died after a week in captivity, 22 May 1952)
with pale shafts and is almost identical in colour to the Sao Paulo bird.
Thus, the age of flying birds cannot be judged by shaft colour.

Third, the pale-scalloped neck region Murphy (1936) reports for
young P. fusca seems variable. Some birds (as the BMNH bird that left
the nest too soon) have little scalloping, others more. Murphy failed to
describe young P. palpebrata, which are also variable but can be much
more scalloped with pale than are young P. fusca. Any scalloping
present would show up more in the field in dark young P. fusca, since P.
palpebrata are always pale-bodied, but we would not use lack of scalloping
as an indication of age; some dark-billed young seem little more scalloped
than adults of their respective species.

Fourth, young P. fusca have a dark and not pale stripe on the lower
mandible (Harrison 1983; not mentioned in Murphy 1936). Washing one
stripe of the Sao Paulo specimen revealed yellow underneath. We suspect
the dark bill stripe may persist for several months after young P. fusca go
to sea, and that the MZUSP specimen 1s such a young bird, despite its
pale shafts (dark near the tips) and relatively slight neck scalloping.

Like Murphy (1936), we found tails of P. fusca slightly shorter than P.
palpebrata, bills slightly longer. The Sao Paulo specimen has such a short
tail (227 mm) that, among males of the two species, it is only like the
Tristan fledgling (225 mm). Perhaps young go to sea with short tails; if so,
the short tail of the specimen might be a further indication of immaturity.

Acknowledgements

We appreciate a joint fellowship of the Funda¢gao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao
Paulo/Deutsche Akademische Austauschdienst (FAPESP/DAAD) for Willis’ visit to
northern museums. Curators of the museums at Tring and New York were very helpful, as
at MZUSP. We especially thank R. A. Sloss, P. R. Colston and D. F. Stotz for rechecking
specimens for us.

References:

Harrison, P. 1983. Seabirds: an identification guide. Croom Helm.

Murphy, R. C. 1936. Oceanic Birds of South America. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., New York.

Pinto, O. 1964. Ornitologia Brasiliense. Vol. 1. Museu de Zoologia, Universidade de Sao
Paulo.

Rumboll, M.A. E.& J. R. Jehl, Jr. 1977. Observations on pelagic birds in the South Atlantic
Ocean in the austral spring. Trans. San Diego Soc. Nat. Hist. 19: 1-16.

Sick, H. 1985. Ornitologia Brasileira Editora Univ. Brasilia.

Sinclair, I. 1987. Field Guide to the Birds of Southern Africa. C. Struik, Cape Town.

Teixeira, D. M., Nacinovic, J. B., Schloemp, I. M. & Kischlat, E. E. 1988. Notes on some
Brazilian seabirds (3). Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 108: 136-139.

Vooren, C. M. & Fernandes, A. C. 1989. Guia de Albatrozes e Petréis do Sul do Brasil. Sagra,
Porto Alegre.

Willis, E. O. & Oniki, Y. 1985. Bird specimens new for the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Rev.
Brasil. Biol. 45: 105-108.

Address: Edwin O. Willis and Yoshika Oniki, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade
Estadual Paulista, C. P. 199, 13.500 Rio Claro, SP, Brazil.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

In Brief 62 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

IN BRIEF

NEW DISTRIBUTIONAL RECORDS FOR HOUSE SPARROW
PASSER DOMESTICUS

In October 1991, Mr A. B. Crease found House Sparrows Passer
domesticus present at the Holiday Beach Hotel on Curagao, about 15 km
west of Willemstadt. I spent two days on Curagao in October 1988 but
saw no trace of House Sparrows, despite searching the island thoroughly
for birds. This points to a recent colonization, though Mr Crease saw up
to 10 birds at a time, suggesting that the species was already well estab-
lished in 1991. The provenance of the Curagao birds is not known;
assisted ship-borne passage seems most likely, either on a Caribbean
cruise liner—House Sparrows were introduced to the Bahamas and Cuba
in the 19th century and are now present as well on Hispaniola, Puerto
Rico, and the Virgin Islands (American Ornithologists’ Union 1983,
Check-list of North American Birds)—or from Panama which was reached
by 1981 by birds spreading south through Central America (Reynolds &
Styles 1982, Rev. Trop. Biol. 30: 65-77).

Gibson et al. (1988, Am. Birds 42, 45-144) describe a female House
Sparrow in Petersburg on 23 October 1987 as the first certain record for
Alaska, overlooking the sighting of 4—5 birds at Anchorage Airport in
June 1981 by Mr C. R. Cole (Summers-Smith 1988, The Sparrows).

The above reports and the first record for Japan—a male and two
juveniles on Rishiri Island, Hokkaido, from 4-7 August 1990 (Sana 1990,
Jap. J. Orn. 39: 33-35)—show how the worldwide expansion of this most
successful species is continuing.

I am grateful to Mr A. B. Crease for sending me the record of House Sparrows on Curagao.

Merlewood, J. D. SUMMERS-SMITH
The Avenue,

Guisborough,

Cleveland TS14 8EE, U.K. 25 March 1992

AN OBSERVATION OF BATELEUR TERATHOPIUS ECAUDATUS IN
NORTHERN TUNISIA

During a study of migration strategies of passerines carried out in Tunisia
during the springs of 1989 and 1990 by the Ottenby Ornithological Re-
search Centre, I spent six weeks in April and May 1990 at Sidi Ali el
Mekki (37°10'N, 10°14’E), 40 km north of Tunis, in Tunisia. The daily
activities included mist-netting, line transects and orientation tests in
Emlen-funnels. The study site was situated close to the sea, south of an
east-west ridge that rises to about 100 ma.s.1. Almost every day small to
high numbers of raptors, storks and other birds were seen on migration
eastwards along the ridge.

In Brief 63 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)

On 8 May 1990 the weather was relatively calm with some overcast but
alternating with sun and some small rain-showers. During the day a
moderate number of raptors were seen moving NE (130 Honey Buzzards
Pernis apivorus, 1 subadult Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis, 2 Pallid/
Montagu’s Harriers Circus macrourus/pygargus). At about 2.30 p.m.
I discovered a large dark raptor (larger than a Honey Buzzard), with a
relatively short tail, among a flock of soaring Honey Buzzards. I immedi-
ately realised that, from its V-shaped wings, short tail and the buoyant
and jerking soaring flight, the bird resembled a Bateleur Terathopius
ecaudatus, a species that I am familiar with from several trips to tropical
Africa. I observed it for about 5 minutes (10 x 40 binoculars) in fairly
good light at distances between 500 m and 2 km, and concluded that it was
a Bateleur, in second plumage.

Description

A large short-tailed raptor, larger than the accompanying Honey Buzzards but smaller
than Short-toed Eagle Circaetus gallicus. The bird appeared almost totally dark brown. The
underside, which I saw best, was evenly dark brown apart from a pale band along the whole
wing between the underwing coverts and the remiges (probably caused by a pale base of the
remiges). There was also a pale patch on the underside of the head and/or the throat. The
upperside, which I did not see very well, seemed to be totally dark brown.

The bird used very few wing-beats during an observation time of about 5 min. During the
soaring and gliding flight, which were very light and buoyant, the bird seemed unsteady,
jerking or tipping from side to side like a paper-swallow. In flapping flight the wing beats
were deep and relatively fast for a bird of its size. Both gliding and soaring flight were on
highly raised V-shaped wings with an extra bend on the outermost part of the primaries, like
the cross-section of an old Viking ship. The whole wing was relatively broad except for the
primaries which were held together making the wing-tip pointed and the trailing edge
almost S-shaped. The trailing edge was smooth without any traces of moult. The tail was
short and rounded or slightly wedge-shaped, just protruding behind the trailing edge of the
wing, almost like the tail of a Lesser Spotted Eagle Aquila pomarina. The head was rather
conspicuous and seemed to be bent downwards, giving a hooklike impression.

The Bateleur is a widespread species in various habitats in Africa south
of the Sahara. It shows no strong evidence of migration but there are
records of north to south movements in West Africa in response to wet
and dry seasons, and irregular stragglers cross the Red Sea to southern
Arabia (Brown et al. 1982, The Birds of Africa, vol. 1). There are also
some accidental records from Iraq (Harrison 1955, Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 75:
60—61) and Israel (Shirihai & Yekutiel 1988, Raptors in Israel: passage and
wintering populations. Birdwatching Center Eilat, Israel).

As far as I know this record is the first observation of the Bateleur in
Tunisia and possibly also in this part of North Africa.

Thanks to Susanne Akesson and Nils Kjellén for comments on the manuscript. This is
report no. 137 from the Ottenby Bird Observatory.

Department of Ecology, University of Lund, ULF OTTOSSON
Ecology Building,

S-223 62 Lund,

Sweden. 27 April 1992

Books Received 64 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(1)
BOOKS RECEIVED

Cook, M. 1992. The Birds of Moray and Nairn. Pp. xiv+ 263, 48 text-figures, black-and-
white drawings. Mercat Press (at James Thin, 53-59 South Bridge, Edinburgh
EHi 1YS). ISBN 1873644 051. £9.95. 23 x 15 cm.

The first book to be written this century about the birds of a rich and varied area of
Scotland, ranging from the coast up to the top of the Cairngorms. A 22-page introductory
section is followed by the species accounts, many of which are illustrated by distribution
maps of breeding (based on a 5x 5km grid) or, in the case of migrants, histograms of
occurrence by half-monthly periods, as well as by good drawings or photographs. Authori-
tative and well produced (strongly bound, with soft covers), this is a valuable addition to
Scottish ornithology.

Ferns, P. F. 1992. Bird Life of Coast and Estuaries. Pp. xiv.+336, 90 text-figures.
Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-34569-3 (hardback). £29.95. 25 x 19cm.

This is the second in the Cambridge series of books on the bird life of major habitat types
in the British Isles. A broad survey, but with plenty of relevant detail, by an expert on coastal
ecology, it maintains the high standard set by Derek Ratcliffe’s Bird Life of Mountain and
Upland (see review in BBOC 111: 56), though in somewhat less evocative style. A useful
introductory chapter on the coastal environment is followed by chapters discussing the
origin, evolution and ecology of the birds inhabiting coastal waters and the main types of
coast, with, finally, a long (70-page) chapter on threats to coastal birds, especially habitat
loss, pollution, and some of the effects of fisheries.

This is a sound, factual account, very useful as a background text for anyone interested in
coastal birds. In addition to the many maps and diagrams, the 90 text-figures include a
number of well reproduced photographs, and 15 attractive drawings of birds by Chris Rose.

Tostain, O., Dujardin, J.-L., Erard, C. & Thiollay, J.-M.1992. Oiseaux de Guyane. Pp. 222,
numerous illustrations. Société d’Etudes Ornithologiques (Muséum d’Histoire
Naturelle, Laboratoire d’Ecologie Générale, 4 avenue du Petit Chateau, 91800 Brunoy,
France). ISBN 2-950648-0-0. 25x 17cm. Obtainable from Natural History Book
Service Ltd., 2-3 Wills Road, Totnes, Devon TQ9 5XN; £35.

French Guiana, of all South American countries the least disturbed by man and still
almost entirely covered by primary forest, has until now had no book devoted to its birds. In
fact, little ornithological research had been undertaken there, and that mainly in the coastal
strip and barely at all in the uninhabited interior, until the intensive and productive research
programme begun by French workers in the mid-1970s. Its extraordinarily rich bird life is
now fairly well known, and is described in this book by four of the principal workers in the
field. After 19 pages of introductory matter (climate, descriptions of habitats etc.), the
systematic section presents a remarkable amount of information in compact form. Under
the main headings Habitat, Distribution and Nidification, with some other headings used
where necessary, the information available for each species is summarized. There is no
attempt to illustrate every species (illustrations are already available in other standard
works), but there are many excellent photographs, some paintings, distribution maps, and a
variety of diagrams illustrating breeding seasons and other ecological data. All illustrations
are in colour. A considerable amount of unpublished information is included, as well as
references to all relevant published work (the compact bibliography occupies 10 pages).
There is a 7-page English summary covering the introductory matter.

Because it fills an important gap in the literature of South American birds, this is a book
for the serious worker; and it will also serve the amateur birdwatcher well, who will almost
certainly possess another identification guide. The poor sterling exchange rate no doubt
partly accounts for the high price.

NOTICE TO CONTRIBUTORS

Papers, from Club Members or non-members, should be sent to the Editor, Dr
D. W. Snow, The Old Forge, Wingrave, Aylesbury, Bucks HP22 4PD, U.K., and
must be offered solely to the Bulletin. They should be typed on one side of the
paper, with treble-spacing and a wide margin, and submitted in duplicate. The
style and lay-out should conform with usage in this or recent issues of the Bulletin.

A contributor is entitled to 10 free offprints of the pages of the Bulletin in which his
contribution, if one page or more in length, appears. Additional offprints or offprints of
contributions of less than one page may be ordered when the manuscript is submitted and
will be charged for. Authors may be charged for proof corrections for which they are
responsible.

BACK NUMBERS OF THE BULLETIN

Available on application to the Hon. Treasurer, as below (Vol. 93 onwards, 4
issues per year; Vols. 89-92, 6 issues per year; Vols. 89 and earlier, generally 9
issues per year): 1993 and after (Vols. 113 onwards) £4.50 each issue; 1983-92
(Vols. 103-112) £4 each issue; 1981—2 (Vols. 101 & 102) £3.50 each issue; 1980
(Vol. 100) No. 1 £4.50, Nos. 2,3 & 4 £2.50 each issue; 1973-9 (Vols. 93-99) £2.50
each issue; 1969-72 (Vols. 89-92) £2 each issue; 1929-68 (Vols. 50-88) £1.20 each
issue; Vol. 49 and before £2.50 each issue.

Indices: Vol. 70 and after £1.50 each; Vols. 50-69 £2.50 each; Vol. 49 and
before £6 each.

Long runs (10 years or more) for Vol. 50 and after are available at reduced rates
on enquiry. Postage and packing extra. Orders over £50 post free. Special issue
Vol. 112A, 1992, in hardback, 300p, £32, inc. p&p.

MEMBERSHIP
Only Members of the British Ornithologists’ Union are eligible to join the
Club; applications should be sent to the Hon. Treasurer, as below, together with
the annual subscription (£8.50 or, if preferred, U.S. $22 for 1993, postage and
index free). Changes of address and any correspondence concerning membership
should be addressed to the Hon. Treasurer.

SUBSCRIPTION TO THE BULLETIN
The Bulletin (Vol. 113 onwards) may be purchased by non-members on pay-
ment of the annual subscription (£18 or, if preferred, U.S. $40 for 1993, postage
and index free). Applications should be sent to the Hon. Treasurer. Single issues
may be obtained as back numbers.

PAYMENTS TO HON. TREASURER

Payments should be sent to the Hon. Treasurer, S. J. Farnsworth, Hammerkop,
Frogmill, Hurley, Maidenhead, Berks SL6 5NL, U.K., or credited direct to the
Club’s bank account—No. 10211540, Sort Code 200087, at Barclays Prime
Account, P.O. Box 125, Northampton NN1 1SO, U.K., with confirmation to the
Hon. Treasurer. All payments are net and should be in Sterling if possible.
Payment in other currencies must include a further £3 for U.K. Bank Charges
(except for annual rates in U.S. Dollars which are inclusive).

CORRESPONDENCE
Correspondence about Club Meetings and on all other matters should go to
the Hon. Secretary, Mrs A. M. Moore, 1 Uppingham Road, Oakham, Rutland
LE15 6JB, U.K.

CONTENTS

CLUBNOTICES Report of the Committee, Annual General Meeting,
Meetings) ese Ad cienctteed ove nee Casa ca ale ohne be
THOMAS, B. T. Birds of a northern Venezuelan secondary-scrub
habitat oj see eS ek eee oe ne Se
CLANCEY, P.A. The status of the Cisticola aberrans subspecies C. a.
nyikaeliynes; 19300 6s. plain ae nee oie
PARKES, K. C. & PANZA, R. K. A new Amazonian subspecies of the
Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher Myiobius ( Terenotriccus) erythrurus .
WILLIS, E.O. & ONIKI,Y. _Newandreconfirmed birds from the state of
Sao Paulo, Brazil, with notes on disappearing species........
BROWNING, M. R. ‘Taxonomy of the blue-crested group of
Cyanocitta stelleri (Steller’s Jay) with a description of a new
SUDSPECIES = 6. ob hos Be ee eee
KITCHENER, A. C., MACDONALD, A. A. & HOWARD, P._ First record of the
Blue Crowned Pigeon Goura cristataon Seram .............
SCHODDE, R. Geographic forms of the Regent Parrot Polytelis
anthopeplus (Lear), and their type localities.................
TEIXEIRA, D. M., OTOCH, R., LUIGI, G., RAPOSO, M. A. & DE ALMEIDA, A. C. C.
Notes on some birds of northeastern Brazil (5)..............
YAMASHITA, C. & VALLE, M. DE P. On the linkage between
Anodorhynchus macaws and palm nuts, and the extinction of
the'Glaucous Macaw .3 282. 622250 oe eee
WILLIS, E. O. & ONIKI, Y. Ona Phoebetria specimen from southern
Brazrb ie oo RS Ply Se ee See

In Brief SUMMERS-SMITH, J. D. New distributional records for
House Sparrow Passer domesticus .............-.--

OTTOSSON, U. An observation of Bateleur Terathopius
ecaudaius in morthern@lunisia s.. 44.20

BOOKSRECE IVE Dai cuemene emeimencieMciiel one iia cicneMcinm ciel tome pettctie)i clit UCclc item ft meie

Page

The Bulletin is despatched from the printers on publication and is sent by Surface Saver
Postal Services to all European destinations outside the U.K. and by Air Saver Postal Services
to destinations outside Europe. Those whose subscriptions have not been received by the
beginning of a month of publication will have their copies despatched by surface mail, after

their current subscription has been paid.

COMMITTEE
R. E. F. Peal (Chairman) (1989) D. Griffin (Vice-Chairman) (1990)
Dr D. W. Snow (Editor) (1991) S.J. Farnsworth ( Treasurer) (1990)
Mrs A. M. Moore (Hon. Secretary) (1989) Revd T. W. Gladwin (1990)
Cdr M. B. Casement, OBE, RN (1990) Dr J. F. Monk (1991)

Dr R. A. Cheke (1991)

UK Data Protection Act. In order to keep records up to date and to facilitate despatch of the
Bulletin names and addresses of Members and Subscribers, and no other information, are
held on computer disc. If there is any objection to this please advise the Hon. Secretary in

writing so that records can be deleted from the disc and stored manually.

Published by the BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB and printed by
Henry Ling Ltd., at the Dorset Press, Dorchester, Dorset

- ISSN 0007-1595
Bulletin of the

British Ornithologists’ Club

JUL 23 1993
LIBRAKIES

Edited by
Dr D. W. SNOW

~Volume113 No.2 June 1993

FORTHCOMING MEETINGS

Tuesday, 27 July 1993. Professor Charles Pilcher will speak on
“Kuwait”. Professor Pilcher has been Professor of Pharmacology at
the University of Kuwait for some years. He has detailed knowledge of
the ornithology of the area, and has directed the ICBP surveys on the
environmental situation which were undertaken there after the Gulf War.

Those wishing to attend are asked to notify the Hon. Secretary by
Tuesday, 13 Fuly 1993*.

Tuesday, 21 September 1993. Dr Geoffrey Davison will speak on
‘Pheasants in Malaysian Rain Forest’’. Dr Davison is a zoologist who
has lived in Malaysia for the past 18 years, specialising in the study of
pheasants and partridges. He has lectured at the National University of
Malaysia for 10 years and has just completed the Malaysian National
Conservation Strategy.

Those wishing to attend are asked to notify the Hon. Secretary by
Tuesday, 7 September 1993*.

Tuesday, 19 October 1993. Dr Clive Mann will speak on
‘Bornean Birds’’.

Tuesday, 2 November 1993. Rod Martins will speak on ‘““Where
are the limits of the Western Palearctic?”’’.

Tuesday, 7 December 1993. Dr John Fanshawe will speak on his
work in the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest in East Africa.

Meetings are held in the Sherfield Building of Imperial College, South
Kensington, London at 6.15 p.m. for 7 p.m. A map showing Imperial
College will be sent to members on request.

*Late acceptances and cancellations can usually be taken up to the
Thursday morning preceding a meeting, although members are asked to
accept by 14 days beforehand as arrangements for meetings have to be
confirmed with Imperial College well in advance.

If you accept and subsequently find you are unable to attend please notify
the Hon. Secretary, 1 Uppingham Road, Oakham, Rutland LE15 67B
(tel. 0572 722788) as soon as possible as the booking can often be offered to

another member.

65 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

Bulletin of the
BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB

Vol. 113 No. 2 Published: 30 June 1993

The eight hundred and twenty-sixth meeting of the Club was held on Tuesday, 16 February
1993 inthe Ante-room, Sherfield Building, Imperial College, South Kensington at 6.15 pm.
29 Members and 18 Guests attended.

Members attending were: R. E. F. Peat (Chairman), M. A. Apcock, Miss H. Baker, Cdr
M. K. Barritt RN, Mrs D. M. Brab.ey, Professor R. A. CHANDLER, Dr R. A. CHEKE, I. D.
Couns, G. S. Cow es, S. J. FARNSWORTH, A. GipsBs, Revd T. W. GLapwin, D. GRIFFIN,
C. A. R. Heim, R. Kettie, Dr J. F. Monr, D. J. Montier, Mrs A. M. Moore, R. G.
Morcan, Mrs M. Mutter, P. J. OLIver, R. C. Price, Dr R. Pr¥s-Jones, Dr R. SELF, Dr
D. W. Snow, N. H. F. Stone, M. P. Watters, R. T. WILSON, C. E. WHEELER.

Guests attending were: The Abbe René de Naurots MC (Speaker), Mrs B. Apcock,
M. J. Brapey, M. L. CasTELian, J. de Naurots, Mrs F. FARNSworTH, Mrs J. GLADWIN,
Miss K. Horr, Mrs D. Hutme, J. HULME, Mme N. Lecomte, Mrs D. Monk, Mrs M.
Montier, P. J. Moore, Mrs E. Peat, Mrs H. Price, Mrs H. Tye, Mrs M. WILson.

After supper the Abbé de Naurois spoke on the ‘“‘Breeding seasons of birds in the Cape
Verde Archipelago”’. He gave an account of the breeding birds of the islands, discussing
their origin, some Palaearctic and some Afrotropical. He then went on to discuss their
breeding seasons, drawing attention to the peculiar climatic regime at the higher altitudes,
where rising moisture-filled air condenses to produce a humid cloud layer with mist,
resulting in a resurgence of growth of vegetation and a secondary, autumn breeding season
in several of the land birds—a regime that has parallels at low latitudes on the dry west coast
of South America and in the Galapagos Islands.

The eight hundred and twenty-seventh meeting of the Club was held on Tuesday, 9 March
1993 in the Ante-room of the Sherfield Building, Imperial College, South Kensington at
6.15 pm. 22 Members and 10 Guests attended.

Members attending were: D. GRIFFIN (in the Chair), Dr R. P. Prys-Jones (Speaker), M.A.
Apcock, Miss H. Baker, D. R. CaLpEr, Professor R. CHANDLER, Dr R. A. CHEKE, P. J.
ConpbeER, Revd T. W. GLapwin, T. J. James, D. J. Montier, Mrs A. M. Moore, R. G.
Morean, Mrs M. Mutter, P. J. OLiver, R. E. Scott, Dr R. SELF, P. J. SELLAR, N. H. F.
Stone, Dr D. H. THomas, M. P. Watters, C. E. WHEELER.

Guests attending were: Mrs B. Apcock, Mrs J. Caper, D. DAvENport, Mrs J.
GLaDWIN, Miss K. Horr, Mrs M. Montirer, P. J. Moore, B. O’Brien, Mrs C. O’Brien,
M. PaLine.

The speaker after supper was Dr Robert Pr¥s-Jones who spoke on ‘‘Waders and
Lemmings in north-eastern Taimyr, Siberia’. He gave an illustrated account of a joint
Russian/Dutch/British South African expedition which visited the arctic tundra west of
Pronchishcheva Lake (75°16’N, 112°28’E) in the far north-eastern Taimyr during the
summers of 1991 and 1992. A major aim was to study the breeding success of waders and
Dark-bellied Brent Geese Branta b. bernicla in years which we had correctly predicted
would have high and low populations of lemmings respectively. In both years, the teams
found 73 wader nests of 9 and 8 species respectively in the 14 km? study area, but whereas
only 5% of nests suffered predation in 1991, over 95% did so in 1992. Nesting success of 16
pairs of Brent Geese, almost all of which nested in fox-exclusion zones around Snowy Owl
nests, was similarly high in 1991, but only 2 pairs even attempted breeding in 1992, when
Snowy Owls also failed to nest. Those results, and observations on predator numbers and
behaviour, provide strong support for the Roselaar-Summers prey-switching hypothesis,
under which the abundance of lemmings is the major determinant of the level of predation
experienced by tundra-nesting birds.

M. Pearman 66 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

The eight hundred and twenty-eighth meeting of the Club was held on Tuesday, 27 April
1993 in the Ante-room of the Sherfield Building, Imperial College, South Kensington at
6.15 pm. 28 Members and 12 Guests attended.

Members attending were: R. E. F. PEAL (Chairman), P.G. W. SALAMAN (Speaker), M. A.
Apcock, Miss H. Baker, D. R. CaLper, Professor R. CHANDLER, Dr R. A. CHEKE, P. J.
Conp_ErR, G. D. FreLtp, Rev. T. W. GLapwin, D. Grirrin, A. Gispss, C. A. R. HELM,
R. Kerrie, Dr J. F. Monk, Mrs A. M. Moore, Dr G. Moret, Dr M.-Y. Moret, R. G.
Morcan, Mrs M. Mutter, J. G. PARKER, V. SAWLE, Dr R. SELF, P. J. SELLAR, R. E.
SHARLAND, N. H. F. Stone, Dr A. Tye, C. E. WHEELER.

Guests attending were: Mrs B. Apcock, Mrs F. FarNswortu, D. Ganpy, R. GILEs,
Mrs J. GLapwin, Mrs S. GRIFFIN, Ms K. Horr, Mrs D. Monk, P. J. Moore, C. A. MULLER,
Mrs E. PEAL, Mrs H. TYE.

After supper the Chairman gave a review of the Club’s affairs over the past year. His
address will be published at a later date.

The speaker, Paul Salaman, gave a most interesting talk entitled “‘Avifauna assisting
conservation: an example from the Colombian Choco’’, illustrated by stunning photographs
by David Gandy. The Pacific slope of the Andes in western Narino, south-west Colombia,
contains probably the world’s greatest concentration of endemic birds, plants, herptiles, and
butterflies. Its extraordinary biodiversity faces severe danger of extinction, owing to rapidly
escalating threats, lack of protection, and a lack of biological fieldwork. During 1991 and
1992, two expeditions from Anglia Polytechnic University, Cambridge, and Universidad
del Valle, Cali, assisted by a BOU grant, compiled faunal species inventories, and deter-
mined the abundance and ecological requirements of threatened, endemic and poorly
known species in seven localities.

A total of 461 bird species were recorded, including 34 endemics and 20 threatened and
near-threatened species. Three new species for Colombia were found, and thirty altitudinal
and distribution extensions recorded. The most significant discoveries were a distinctive
and undescribed vireo species at 1400 m and an apparently new species of Pzculus at 500 m.
A total of 1328 individuals of 218 bird species were ringed, yielding much new information
on avian biometrics, identification and abundance.

A conservation strategy was formulated to pin-point areas requiring priority action. The
Rio Nambi forest at 1400 m was assigned “‘critical priority’’, and subsequently a conser-
vation action plan for its protection was drawn up. Already funds raised have purchased
3000 ha of the Rio Nambi forest and a management plan has been implemented. Our work in
south-west Colombia has shown how ornithological field action by student expeditions can
rapidly lead to practical conservation measures: playing our part in preserving life on earth.

Some range extensions and five species new to
Colombia, with notes on some scarce or little
known species

by Mark Pearman
Received 4 February 1992

This paper presents notes on five species previously unrecorded in
Colombia from geographical extremes: P. N. Amacayacu, southeastern
Amazonas; Cerro Tacarcuna, extreme northern Choco; and Turbo,
northern Antioquia. Three of these species are previously unrecorded
from the South American continent. Other range extensions are given
for 15 species, 10 of them previously unrecorded on the Colombian side
of the ‘Darien Gap’. Additionally an altitudinal range extension and
vocalization and behavioural notes on 12 scarce or little known species,
from nine scattered localities, are included.

M. Pearman 67 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

Most of the observations are from two main localities: the forested
eastern slope of Cerro Tacarcuna, from 50m to 1300m, hereafter
referred to as ‘‘C. Tacarcuna’’; and an unnamed Amazonian river island,
with early successional growth and lagoons, opposite Puerto Narino,
Amazonas, hereafter referred to as ‘‘near Puerto Narino’’.

The purpose of this paper is to document sight records made by the
author on field trips in January—April 1987, and with John Hurrell in
August-September 1987 and September—October 1990. Other sight
records made by Rod McCann (RMcC), Frank Lambert (FL), David
Willis (DW) and members of the British Ornithologists’ Union recent
Colombian expedition (BOU) are included where relevant. It serves to
update current knowledge of the Colombian avifauna using Hilty &
Brown (1986) as a principal source. Sound recordings are deposited in the
British Library of Wildlife Sounds, London. Photographic material is
deposited with VIREO, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia.

Species accounts

PEARL KITE Gampsonyx swainsonii

Two individuals were observed c. 3km S of Unguia, N Choco, on
12 October 1990. Apparently not previously recorded W of Gulf of
Uraba, Choco/Antioquia border (Hilty & Brown 1986), this species has
been reported twice from Cana, E Darien, Panama, and it has been
suggested that colonization is occurring from Colombia (Robbins et al.
1985). The first Panamanian record was from the canal Zone in June 1977
(Pujals et al. 1977), but there are still no definite breeding records from
Panama (Ridgely & Gwynne 1989).

ZONE-TAILED HAWK Buteo albonotatus

In Colombia the species is known from the Santa Marta region south
to S Magdalena and east of the Andes from SW Meta, W Caqueta and
Amazonas (Hilty & Brown 1986). The sighting of an individual at
c. 400 m on C. Tacarcuna on 7 October 1990 represents a considerable
range extension in Colombia. The species has, however, been recorded
once near E] Real, E Darien, Panama, in July 1975 (Ridgely & Gwynne
1989).

TACARCUNA WOOD-QUAIL Odontophorus dialeucos

A covey of 3 was observed at c. 1280 m near the ridge of C. Tacarcuna,
on 9 October 1990. When alarmed, they ran in short bursts of 2-6m
and climbed onto fallen trees, presumably to look for intruders. This
poorly known Odontophorus, first discovered in 1963, is endemic to C.
Tacarcuna, C. Mali and C. Barigonal, and was included in the IUCN/
ICBP ‘near-threatened species list’ (as defined by Collar & Andrew
1988). The first Colombian record was from P. N. Los Katios, C.
Tacarcuna, Choco (Rodriguez 1982).

BAIRD’S SANDPIPER Calidris bairdit

An individual was photographed at a small lagoon near Puerto Narino
on 30 September 1990. The species normally migrates west of the
Colombian Andes and through the paramos of Ecuador and Peru, and
was previously unknown from the Amazon basin.

M. Pearman 68 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

WILSON’S PHALAROPE Phalaropus tricolor

An individual was observed and photographed near Puerto Narino on
30 September 1990, representing the first Amazonian record of the
species. It as observed on a small lagoon in close association with one
Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes and the Baird’s Sandpiper mentioned
above.

The species is known as a rare southward transient in Colombia from 5
September/October records and 1 February record (Hilty & Brown
1986). Sick (1979) mentions an August record from Mato Grosso, Brazil,
which presumably passed through Amazonia.

RUFOUS-BANDED OWL Ciccaba albitarsus

This species was reported as being apparently rare (probably over-
looked) by Hilty & Brown (1986), with only one recent record from Finca
Meremberg, Cauca, in 1980 (Ridgely & Gaulin 1980). Fjeldsa & Krabbe
(1990), however, considered it to be common witha spotty distribution in
the Andes as a whole.

An individual was readily observed using tape playback lure (thus
probably holding territory) on 25-26 March 1987 at P. N. Munchique,
Cauca, and another at Chupallal de Perico, P. N. Purace, Huila, on 11
April 1987. The species appears to be locally common in both Colombia
and Ecuador (pers. obs.).

PURPLE-CHESTED HUMMINGBIRD Amazilia rosenbergi

Described by Hilty & Brown (1986) as uncommon on the Pacific coast,
occurring to 200m (probably higher?). ‘Three males were observed at
400 m at La X, Choco (c. 50 km E of Quibdo, on the Medellin road), on 18

October 1990, representing a considerable altitudinal range extension.

COLOURFUL PUFFLEG Eviocnemis mirabilis

This rare hummingbird is known only from the type locality, on the
western slope of W Andes in P. N. Munchique, Cauca, where it was
discovered as recently as 1967 (Meyer de Schauensee 1967), and it
remains little known (Hilty & Brown 1986).

‘Two attempts were made at locating this species, and on 17 April 1987
observations were made of a male and two females at or near the type
locality. All individuals were observed feeding low, <2m up on tiny
yellow tubular flowers, and occasionally perched 4m up-on exposed
branches at the edge of the trail. Females called a persistent high-pitched
sip. The male was silent except for its rather loud wing-beats. The species
is known from 5 specimens and was regarded as an IUCN/ICBP Red
Data Book species (as defined by Collar & Andrew 1988).

SOOTY-CAPPED PUFFBIRD Bucco noanamae

This Bucco, endemic to the Pacific lowlands of NW Colombia, is
known from only a small number of specimens and sight records (Haffer
1975, Rodriguez 1982, Dunning 1988). Haffer (1975) located, and
collected, this species only twice in 4 years fieldwork in NW Colombia.

A single bird was flushed low from roadside vegetation to an exposed
horizontal branch 3 m up near Istmina, Choco, on 17 October 1990. The
bird was confiding and did not fly off when a truck passed by; several

M. Pearman 69 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

photographs were obtained. It remained silent and peered around in
typical Bucco fashion, eventually disappearing into dense second growth
opposite a small banana plantation. The species is currently included in
the IUCN/ICBP ‘near-threatened species list’ (as defined by Collar &
Andrew 1988).

FIVE-COLOURED BARBET Capito quinticolor

A pair were observed and photographed near Santo Milagrosso,
c. 60km S of Quibdo, Choco, on 16 October 1990. They were rather
confiding, foraging from sub-canopy down to 2.5 m at humid forest edge
and loosely associated with a pair of Masked Tityra T7tyra semifasciata,
which they eventually followed from tree to tree into very disturbed
humid forest. The call, previously undescribed, is a low-pitched, hollow,
rolling trill lasting 3—4 sec. This poorly known Colombian endemic of the
Pacific lowlands has been seen at several localities near Quibdo (Hilty &
Brown 1986) and was included in the IUCN/ICBP ‘near-threatened
species list’ (as defined by Collar & Andrew 1988).

SCALED PICULET Picumnus squamulatus

One female was observed in roadside scrub near km 53 on the
Guadalupe-Florencia road, near the Huila/Caqueta border, on 4 April
1987, and at the same location on 26 August 1989 (DW and RMcC
unpubl.). These sightings represent a range extension of c. 240 km to the
SW of the Macarena Mts, S Meta, previously thought to be the southern
range limit of this species (Hilty & Brown 1986).

LESSER HORNERO Furnarius minor

F.. minor is known from 1 Colombian specimen, 1 nest building record,
and sight records from Isla Corea, Isla Mocagua and near Puerto Narino
(Hilty & Brown 1986, DW and RMcC unpubl., and BOU in prep.). It is
restricted to river islands, where it occurs in early successional growth
and grassland, replacing the widespread Pale-legged Hornero F. leucopus,
which occurs sympatrically in the forested portions of these islands.

The species was found to be common near Puerto Narino in September
1990. Its song is similar to that of F’. leucopus but is shorter, flatter in tone,
and ends in an abrupt trill.

WHITE-BELLIED SPINETAIL Synallaxis propinqua

First discovered in Colombia by DW, RMcC and BOU (in prep.) near
Puerto Narino on 17 August 1989. In late September 1990, the species
was found to be very common at the same locality, mainly inhabiting
grassland, and to a lesser extent successional growth, where it was
occasionally seen walking on the ground. The call isa short, rapid series of
notes, like the noise made by a fishing reel, often followed, after a pause,
by the song which is a slower descending series of notes.

RED-FACED SPINETAIL Cranioleuca erythrops

A single bird observed at c. 1050m on C. Tacarcuna, on 10 October
1990, represents the first record from the Colombian side of the Darién
Gap. The species is reported to be fairly common in the highlands of E
Darién, Panama (Ridgely & Gwynne 1989).

M. Pearman 70 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

POINT-TAILED PALMCREEPER Berlepschia rikeri

A single individual was located c. 10 km N of Leticia, Amazonas, in a
small grove of palms on 28 February 1987..1t was approachable and rather
confiding as it picked and gleaned palm leaves, especially the undersides,
and searched the trunks from 1.5 m to sub-canopy c. 8m up. It visited
three palm groves in the course of c. 20 min.

On 5 August 1989 DW and RMcC observed the species in the same
palm groves and about a month later the BOU (in prep.) observed a pair
copulating at this locality and another individual 1 km away. Prior to
these observations the species was unrecorded in Colombia.

SLATY ANTWREN Myrmotherula schisticolor

A male and female were observed at c. 800m on C. Tacarcuna on 10
October 1990. The species is previously unrecorded from the Colombian
side of the Darien Gap and 1s considered locally uncommon in Panamanian

Darien (Ridgely & Gwynne 1989).

OCHRE-STRIPED ANTPITTA Grallaria dignissima

This antpitta was known in Colombia from a specimen taken in
September 1966 at San Miguel, Putomayo (Hilty & Brown 1986), until
discovered by FL and BOU (in prep.) at P. N. Amacayacu, Amazonas, in
January 1989. We found this to be a particularly timid Grallaria at
Amacayacu where one or two were heard daily in September 1990. The
song is a mournful 2-note whistle hoo-huooo; the second note slides
downscale, and the phrase 1s repeated at 10—14 sec intervals. The species
walks, and runs, on the floor of humid terra firme, often near stream
courses, and responds well to playback, but keeps its distance, usually
allowing the observer only fleeting glimpses.

TACARCUNA (PALE-THROATED) TAPACULO Scytalopus panamensis

This species was found to be common between 1050 m and 1200 m on
C. Tacarcuna in October 1990. Typical views were brief as birds flushed,
often climbing briefly or skirting dead fallen trees, at damp forest edge.
‘The main vocalization heard was a strident tuh tu-tu-tu-t lasting c. 1.5 sec,
occasionally with a very short hard sixth ¢ note, and repeated at
c. 1.5—3 sec intervals for up to 15 repetitions. This was thought to be an
alarm call, although birds responded to playback, being drawn into the
open on occasion.

A second vocalization, often induced by the alarm-type call of one bird
and made by a second individual (female?) near-by, starts each time in the
gaps between each vocalization of the first bird. The phrase begins with 5
evenly spaced introductory dt notes continuing into a nasal low-pitched
trill and descending in pitch toward the end; the whole typically lasting
3.5 sec. This phrase is typically delivered twice during the start of the
alarm series and once at the end, the latter without the introductory notes.
The manner, timing and structure of such vocalization sequences, heard
on several occasions, suggest a pair bond. This vocalization description is
probably the first for the species as that given by Wetmore (1972) is
certainly erroneous and unlike any Scytalopus.

The taxonomic affinities of S. panamensis (endemic to C. Tacarcuna
and C. Mali) and S. vicinior, which replaces it on C. Pirre, are uncertain.

M. Pearman 71 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

There appears to be considerable variation of vocalizations in S. vicinior,
which may include three species (Fjeldsa & Krabbe 1990), and interest-
ingly, a presumed alarm call of the C. Pirre form described by Robbins et
al. (1985) appears to be identical to that of the Tacarcuna birds described
here.

BROWN-RUMPED TAPACULO Scytalopus latebricola

Vocalizations and behaviour of the nominate subspecies, endemic to
the Santa Marta Mts, Magdalena, have not previously been described in
the literature. On 30 January 1987, two individuals were located at
c. 2100 m on the upper northern slope of the Santa Marta massif. Both
birds gave a nasal, high-pitched szeow at 3—4 sec intervals, for up to 15
repetitions; presumably a contact call. Like other species of Scytalopus,
the birds crept low in undergrowth and leaf-litter, and were mainly
terrestrial, occasionally climbing mossy trunks with tangled vines
1.5mup.

SCALE-CRESTED PYGMY-TYRANT Lophotriccus pileatus

Two singles were observed on C. Tacarcuna between 1000 m and
1200 m, on 9-10 October 1990, representing the first records on the
Colombian side of the Darien Gap. The species is, however, reported as
common throughout Panama, but with few records on the Caribbean

slope (Ridgely & Gwynne 1989).

WHITE-THROATED SPADEBILL Platyrinchus mystaceus

A single bird was located at 1250 mon C. Tacarcuna on 9 October 1990,
representing the first record from the Colombian side of the Darién Gap.
The species is reported as uncommon in E Darien, Panama (Ridgely &
Gwynne 1989).

LITTLE GROUND-TYRANT Muscisaxicola fluviatilis

The species is known in Colombia from three sight records from Isla
Corea, Amazonas (Hilty & Brown 1986), sight records from the down-
stream part of Isla Mocagua and an individual trapped and photographed
near Puerto Narino in July 1989 (DW, RMcC, BOU in prep.), where we
also recorded a single bird which frequented a deep mud gulley and
adjacent riverbank on 30 September 1990.

AMAZONIAN BLACK-TYRANT Knipolegus poecilocercus

One was observed, in a small riverside bush, at Quebrada Matamata,
P. N. Amacayacu, Amazonas, on 23 September 1990. It sallied into the
water up to 10 times in c. 3 min and appeared to be bathing rather than
flycatching; a preening session followed. A notable feature of the sallies
was the loud whirr of the wings. In both sexes the outer 3 primaries are
pointed (Sick 1984).

This local species is known in Colombia from two specimens taken in C
Meta and E Vichada, four sight records near Leticia (Hilty & Brown
1986), and several sight records of females close to Quebrada Matamata,
P. N. Amacayacu, in January 1989 (BOU in prep.).

CITRON-BELLIED ATTILA Attila citriniventris
One was located and photographed in a relatively open area of humid
terra firme forest at P. N. Amacayact, Amazonas, on 24 September 1990,

M. Pearman 72 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

representing the first record of the species in Colombia. It was observed
intermittently for about an hour and was active mainly in mid-strata,
c. 10 m up, very occasionally dropping down to 6 m, or more often rising
to the sub-canopy c. 16m up. Its general behaviour, typical of the genus,
varied from being very active in repeated sallies for insects to sitting still
and lethargically peering around, once on a hanging liana.

BEAUTIFUL JAY Cyanolyca pulchra

‘This species, endemic to the Pacific slope, is described as rare and local,
occurring from the headwaters of the Rio San Juan southward (Hilty &
Brown 1986), and is regarded as an I|UCN/ICBP Red Data Book species
(as defined by Collar & Andrew 1988). It is resident and seen with
regularity at R. N. La Planada (many sight records). On 28 October 1990
a group of 3 were observed at this locality, on a cloud forest ridge, at
c. 2000 m. Vocalizations included a grating call, given in loose pairs or
more continuously when excited, and a double click followed by a rising
whistle, repeated immediately by a single click-whistle. This phrase
was common and repeated up to four times. Birds responded immediately
to playback. One individual was observed mobbing a Plate-billed
Mountain-Toucan Andigena laminirostris by flying into it deliberately.

SOOTY-HEADED WREN Thryothorus spadix

On 11 October 1990 two individuals were observed collecting nest
material at c. 650m at C. Tacarcuna. The nest itself was a mossy clump
located 3m up at forest edge and the record is the first from the
Colombian side of the Darien Gap. In Panama the species is known from
C. Pirre and has also been recorded on C. Tacarcuna and C. Quia; it is
described as inconspicuous and uncommon (Robbins et al. 1985, Ridgely
& Gwynne 1989).

On 26 August 1987, a sight record of two individuals below Junin,
Narino, at c. 900m, confirms a sighting by R. Ridgely in 1976 and
indicates that the species undoubtedly occurs in NW Ecuador, where it
has yet to be recorded.

BAND-TAILED OROPENDOLA Ocyalus latirostris

‘Two individuals of this small, slim oropendola were seen flying across
the extensive flood plain at Puerto Narino, Amazonas, on 29 September
1990. 'The species can be considered uncommon in Colombia, where it is
known from a specimen and sight records at Quebrada Arara, Quebrada
Tucuchira and adjacent Isla Santa Sofia III, Amazonas, and, more
recently, from P. N. Amacayacu where the species is uncommon inside

terra firme and was considerably more common in mixed icterid flocks
along the Rio Cotuhe in July/August 1989 (RMcC, DW, and BOU in
prep.).
PALM WARBLER Dendroica palmarum

A single bird in immature/non-breeding plumage was observed for 20
minutes at the Turbo airstrip, N Antioquia, on 13 October 1990. This
represents the first record of the species in both mainland Colombia and
South America (Ridgely & Tudor 1989). The bird was mainly terrestrial
and was observed on both the grass verge of the runway and on the tarmac
itself, perching occasionally on several low fences. It continually wagged

M. Pearman 73 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

its tail whilst walking. The bird was very confiding, allowing approach to
within c. 6m. We were refused permission to photograph the bird by
military officials at the airport.

This migrant species winters from central U.S.A. to Honduras and the
Greater Antilles, where it is an abundant visitor to Cuba (M. Sulley pers.
comm.). Its occurrence in Mexico, outside the Yucatan Peninsula and its
adjacent islands, is based on a few sight records and a specimen (Hubbard
1972). It is a rare, but perhaps regular, winter visitant to Costa Rica
and Panama (Ridgely & Gwynne 1986), and there are records from the
Colombian islands off the coast of Nicaragua (Paulson et al. 1969, Russell
et al. 1979, Hilty & Brown 1986).

WILSON’S WARBLER Wlsonza pusilla

An adult was observed in low to mid strata (1—5 m up) below the ridge
of C. Tacarcuna, at c. 1250m, on 9 October 1990. From a distance of
c. 10 m it was observed intermittently for c. 15 minutes at the edge of a
small clearing, where it was seen hawking actively and hover-feeding.

This record is of particular interest as the species has not been
previously recorded from South America or from Darien, Panama, and is
known from only 3 sight records as far east as central Panama; it mainly
migrates as far south as the Chiriqui region of western Panama, where it
passes the northern winter in large numbers (Ridgely & Gwynne 1989).

SLATE-THROATED REDSTART Myioborus miniatus

Four and six individuals were observed on 8 and 9 October 1990
respectively between 800 and 1250m on C. Tacarcuna. The species is
reported as rather uncommon in the highlands of E Darien, Panama
(Ridgely & Gwynne 1989), although our observations on the Colombian
side of the border, where the species is previously unreported, would
appear to indicate otherwise.

GREY-THROATED WARBLER Baszileuterus cinereicollis

One individual was observed in a remnant humid forest patch on
the eastern slope of the Perija Mts, Cesar, between Manaure and Cerro
Pintado, on 13 February 1987. The bird kept to within c. 1.5m of the
ground in rather sparse but tall (c. 1.5 m) undergrowth in an area of well-
spaced trees, where it responded well to ‘pishing’. The species may now
be rare in much of its range due to habitat loss (Hilty & Brown 1986) and is
regarded as an [|UCN/ICBP Red Data Book species (as defined by Collar
& Andrew 1988).

SPECKLED TANAGER Tangara guttata

‘Two individuals were observed on 8 October, and 6 on 10 October 1990
at c. 800m on C. Tacarcuna at forest edge. The species is previously
unreported from the Colombian side of the Darién Gap though fairly
common in eastern Darien, Panama (Ridgely & Gwynne 1986).

SILVER-THROATED TANAGER Tangara icterocephala

Observations of a single bird at c. 800 m and 2 individuals at c. 1150 m
on 8 October 1990, and 2 at 1250 m on 10 October 1990, on C. Tacarcuna
are the first records from the Colombian side of the Darién Gap. The
species is common and widespread in Panama (Ridgely & Gwynne 1989).

M. Pearman 74 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

GREY-AND-GOLD TANAGER Tangara palmeri

One was observed on C. Tacarcuna at c. 700 m on 11 October 1990 at
the edge of a remnant forest patch. The species is reported to be rare to
locally uncommon in Darien, Panama (Ridgely & Gwynne 1989), and is
previously unrecorded on the Colombian side of the Darien Gap.

GREEN-NAPED TANAGER Tangara fucosa

One was observed at the headwaters of the Rio Tigre at c. 1220 m, just
below the ridge of C. Tacarcuna, on 8 October 1990. The bird was located
in a low bush at the edge of a trail in elfin forest where it associated with a
group of 6 Tacarcuna Bush-tanagers Chlorospingus tacarcunae. The bird
was observed for 2 minutes in light drizzle, at a distance of c. 6 m.

The species is known from Cerro Mali and Cerro Pirre (Wetmore
et al. 1984), where it was seen in about one third of the mixed-species
flocks encountered above 1400m (Robbins et al. 1985), and more
recently has also been recorded from C. Tacarcuna (Ridgely & Gwynne
1989). It has not been previously recorded in Colombia, but was to be
expected (Ridgely & Gwynne 1989); the sighting represents the first
record for South America. The species 1s currently placed in an IUCN/
ICBP ‘near-threatened species list’ (as defined by Collar & Andrew
1988).

BLACK-AND-GOLD TANAGER Bangsia melanochlamys

Nothing has been published on the natural history of this species,
endemic to two small areas in west-central Colombia (Isler & Isler 1987).
On 31 August 1987, an individual was located inside humid forest on
the western slope of Cerro Tatama, Choco/Valle/Risaralda border at
c. 1500 m above Todo La Fierra. The bird was initially found c. 10 m up
in sub-canopy on an exposed bare branch where it appeared lethargic and
relatively inactive for c. 5 minutes. It then joined a large mixed-species
foraging flock which included Red-headed Barbet Eubucco bourcierit,
Scaly-throated Foliage-gleaner Anabercerthia variegaticeps, Ochre-
breasted Tanager Chlorothraupis stolzmanni, Yellow-throated Bush-
tanager Chlorospingus flavigularis, and loosely associating Olivaceous
Piha Lipaugus cryptolophus and White-headed Wren Campylorhynchus
albobrunneus. The mixed flock stayed in the area for c. 15 minutes and
observations of B. melanochlamys were obtained down to c..6 m as it fed,
c.6 mup, on clusters of red berries. It was highly manoeuvrable and once
clung upside down from a stem to pluck a berry from a cluster. The call
was a loud, high-pitched keerlu which wavered in pitch in the middle and
lasted’ c! 2'sec:

The species is regarded as an IUCN/ICBP Red Data Book species (as
defined by Collar & Andrew 1988).

Acknowledgements

I wish to express my thanks to John Hurrell for help in the field; to J. Hurrell, Martin
Kelsey, Frank Lambert and Dave Willis for their useful comments on a draft of this paper;
to Rod McCann, the B.O.U. team and Dave Willis for offering personal sight record data; to
INDERENA for permission and help in visiting P. N. Amacayacu, P. N. Purace, P. N.
Munchique and P. N. Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta; and to Fundacion para la Educacion
Superior for permission and help in visiting R. N. La Planada.

D. W. Buden 75 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

References:

Collar, N. J. & Andrew, P. 1988. Birds to Watch: ICBP World Checklist of Threatened Birds.
ICBP Techn. Publ. 8. ICBP, Cambridge.

Dunning, J. 1988. South American Birds: a photographic aid to identification. Harrowood
Books, Pennsylvania.

Fjeldsa, J. & Krabbe, N. 1990. Birds of the High Andes. Zool. Mus. Univ. of Copenhagen.

Haffer, J. 1975. Avifauna of northwestern Colombia. Bonn. Zool. Monogr. 7.

Hilty, S. L. & Brown, W. L. 1986. A Guide to the Birds of Colombia. Princeton Univ. Press.

Hubbard, J. P. 1972. Palm Warbler in Guerrero and comments on Audubon’s Warbler in
Costa Rica. Auk 89: 885-886.

Isler, M. L. & Isler, P. R. 1987. The Tanagers : natural history, distribution, and identification.
Smithson. Inst. Press.

Meyer de Schauensee, R. 1967. Eriocnemis mirabilis, a new species of Hummingbird from
Colombia. Notulae Naturae 402: 1-2.

Paulson, .D. R., Orions, G. H. & Leck, C. F. 1969. Note on birds of Isla San Andrés. Auk 86:
755-758.

Pujals, J. et al. 1977. American Birds 31: 1099-1111.

Ridgely, R.S. & Gaulin, S. J. C. 1980. The birds of Finca Meremberg, Huila Department,
Colombia. Condor 82: 379-391.

Ridgely, R. S. & Gwynne, J. A. 1989. A Guide to the Birds of Panama. 2nd ed. Princeton
Univ. Press.

Robbins, M. B., Parker, T. A. & Allen, S. E. 1985. The avifauna of Cerro Pirre, Darién,
eastern Panama. Pp. 198-207 in P. A. Buckley et al. (eds), Neotropical Ornithology. Orn.
Monogr. 36.

Rodriguez, J. V. 1982. Aves del Parque Nacional Los Katios. INDERENA, Bogota.

Russell, S. M., Barlow, J. C. & Lamin, D. W. 1979. Status of some birds of Isla San Andrés
and Isla Providencia, Colombia. Condor 81: 98-100.

Sick, H. 1979. Notes on some Brazilian birds. Bul. Brit. Orn. Cl. 99: 115-120.

Sick, H. 1984. Ornitologia Brasileira, Uma Introdugdo. Vol. 2. Editora Univ. de Brasilia.

Wetmore, A. 1972. Birds of the Republic of Panama. Part 3. Smithson. Inst. Press.

Wetmore, A., Pasquier, R. F. & Olson, S. L. 1984. Birds of the Republic of Panama. Part 4.
Smithson. Inst. Press.

Address : Mark Pearman, 58 Prospect Place, Wapping Wall, London E1 9TJ, U.K.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

Geographic variation in the Scaly-breasted
Thrasher Margarops fuscus with descriptions of
three new subspecies

by Donald W. Buden
Received 3 April 1992

The Scaly-breasted Thrasher Margarops fuscus (Muller), endemic to the
Lesser Antilles (Fig. 1), has been recorded on St. Martin (sight records
only), Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts (= St. Christopher), Nevis, Barbuda,
Antigua, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Désirade, Marie-Galante, Dominica,
Martinique, St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Vincent, the Grenadines (sight
records only), and Grenada, occurring in forests, semi-arid woodlands,

D. W. Buden 76 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

and in settled areas (Bond 1956, 1961, 1984). Bond (1956) considered it
common generally, but less numerous on St. Vincent and Grenada, rare
and local on Barbados, and accidental in the Grenadines, where observed
on Union and Carriacou after the hurricane of 1898 and until 1902. Bond
(1961) later considered it rare on Grenada as well as on Barbados and the
American Ornithologists’ Union (1983) apparently made an erroneous
place name substitution in reporting it as “‘possibly extirpated on
Barbuda and Grenada.”’

Cory (1892) included Barbados in a list of localities for M. fuscus, but
Clark (1905) suggested Cory’s code number 33 (= Barbados) probably
was a misprint for number 32 (= Grenada), which was omitted from the
list. Noble (1916) alluded to examples from Barbados, but I am unaware
of any specimens that would have been available then. To the best of
my knowledge, the only substantiated records from Barbados are two
specimens collected in 1924, several seen near Bissex Hill and Chalky
Mount in spring 1959 (Hutt in Bond 1962), another near St. John’s
Church in 1976 (Hutt in Bond 1977), and at least one other at Russia
Gulley, St. Thomas, in October 1987 (M. Hutt zm litt.). One of the two
specimens (AMNH 325625) is labelled as a breeding male in full song
with testes measuring one third of an inch (8.5 mm) and collected on the
east side of Barbados at an elevation of c. 900 feet (274 m) by G. H. Thayer
and Sinclair Clark on 18 March. The other (AMNH 325626) is labelled as
a female with small ovaries collected at Bathsheba on 25 March; the data
are noted on the label as having been extracted from G. H. Thayer’s field
notes. Both specimens probably were collected in or near the forest along
Hackleton’s Cliff, which I visited several times during 13-18 July 1988,
but without seeing M. fuscus.

Muller described Muscicapa fusca (= Margarops fuscus) in 1776 based
on Daubenton’s Gobe-Mouche brun de la Martinique, Pl. Enl. 568,
Figure 2—see Bangs & Penard (1920) for additional comments on this
plate. Synonyms include Turdus montanus Lafresnaye, 1844, which is
preoccupied, and Turdus apicalis Hartlaub, 1857, the type of which is of
uncertain provenance but is not Daubenton’s illustration as was reported
by Bangs & Penard (1920). Hartlaub (1857) gave the locality as Senegal,
which is unlikely if the specimen is indeed M. fuscus. Lichtenstein’s
(1854) list of birds in the Berlin Museum includes one Crateropus apicalis
from Senegal, this name being a nomen nudum; the specimen doubtless
was the type of Turdus apicalis. Cabanis (1874) reported that the type was
acquired by the Berlin Museum from a French naturalist and was said to
be from Africa. He refuted its being an African species and considered it
an example of Turdus montanus Lafresnaye without elaborating as to how
he reached that conclusion but mentioning that the Berlin Museum had
no other examples. I am unable to state whether or not this specimen still
exists and has been correctly identified.

Lawrence (1887) reported Scaly-breasted Thrashers from Grenada as
being smaller and more extensively white ventrally than those from other
islands, and he described them as a new species, Margarops albiventris.
Cory (1888) proposed the name Margarops montanus rufus for the birds
on Dominica, claiming them “paler” and ‘“‘reddish brown instead of |
dark brown’’ compared with nominate montanus (=fuscus). But after —

D.W. Buden 77 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

Gr Sts Martin

“Saba gy Barbuda
Se a St. Eustatius

Kitts 4
Nevis© (> Antigua

§— Montserrat

Guadeloupe — re 2—Deésirade
ZO Marie-
Dominica—\ )

Galante

keen
100 km

ee
St. pig Len

60°W

Sé. WT) S

Grenadines re peer

Grenada_p>

Figure 1. Map of the Lesser Antilles.

examining additional material, Cory (1891) considered the species
monotypic and included M. albiventris in synonymy, at the same time
erecting the genus Allenia for all of these populations. No new names
were proposed subsequently, but Riley (1904) noted that specimens from
Barbuda and Antigua averaged larger and were more olive and not so
reddish as those from other islands. Noble (1916) reported that birds
from the southern Lesser Antilles tended to be darker and smaller than
those from the northern islands, and he went on to say “‘that if asouthern
race were to be separated from a northern the Guadeloupe bird would
be included in the northern and the Dominica bird in the southern.”’
In a more recent and widely accepted taxonomic interpretation, Bond
(1956, 1959) considered the species monotypic and merged Allenia with
Margarops.

D. W. Buden 78 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

TABLE 1
Mean, standard deviation, and sample size (in brackets) for wing, tail, and bill length
measurements (mm) in samples of Margarops fuscus

Locality Sex Wing Tail Bill
Saba 3 124.8,1.9 (5) Vath ilecsy 0 (5) 18870716)
2 1:23:70; 207 (3) 99.4,1.8 (3) O43 (3)
St. Eustatius 3 125.0 (1) IKONS ot (2) 18.0,0.3 (3)
St. Kitts 3 126083539" (7) 9925329) 18.6,0.5 (8)
Q 232802719 (5) 98.9,4.8 (5) ees Hy), ((7)
Nevis 3 123.8,1.5 (4) 98.1,3.1 (4) 18.0,0.7 (4)
Q 124.5,0.7 (2) 101.2,0.9 (2) 18.6,0.2 (2)
Barbuda 3 125.0,1.4 (2) 96.4,1.8 (2) 17.8,0.9 (2)
Q 124.7,4.5 (3) 99° 253351943) 1728087 18)
Antigua 3 125.4,2.1 (5) NOOB 253 iar(Q) 17.9,0.8 (9)
2 12 5eS SOM ite (2) 99.4,7.2 (3) 17.8,0.7 (7)
Montserrat 3 124.3,0.6 (3) 95.0,3.0 (3) LESSON 6)
Q 125.0,1.4 (2) 96.0, 4.3 (2) 17.1,0.4 (2)
Guadeloupe 3 124.0,4.0 (8) 97.9,2.8 (8) 17.7,0.6 (10)
Q 11222 85:58252(9) 95.4,5.4 (11) 17.8,0.9 (15)
Dominica ei TAO NDS (25) 91.8,.1.6, (22) 17.5,0.8 (24)
Q 107254328: au(9) 9145,13).3),4(18)) 17 OLS (Qi)
Martinique 3 118.5,2.1 (4) Oeil Saya) NS. ian ZH)
Q 114.5,3.4 (4) dha ONT)
St. Lucia 3 120.6, 3.4 (28) 91.4,3.4 (25) 17.3,0.7 (28)
Q 119.0, 3.6 (8) 91-8395. 1.5 17-5)0:7 + (8)
Barbados 3 120.0 (1) 98.5 (1) IBS (1)
Q 118.0 (1) 93.4 (1) 16.9 (1)
St. Vincent 3 119.2,2.4 (10) 90:8, 3.2 (9) 17.8,0.6 (9)
Q 115 20822608. (11) 87.7,2.8 (11) 18.1,0.6 (13)
Grenada 3 114.8, 2.6 (6) 87.5,2.6 (4) 16.8,1.0 (6)
Q 118.0,1.4 (4) 84.0 (1) 16.9,1.0 (5)

I examined most of the specimens (study skins) used in previous
studies along with 84 additional specimens collected by Albert Schwartz
and associates on 12 different islands during 1961-1963. The Schwartz
collection (AS) is now in the Louisiana State University Museum of
Natural Science (LSUMZ). Other specimens I examined are in the
American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), Field Museum of
Natural History (FMNH), Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ),
and the National Museum of Natural History (USNM).

The measurements, wing length (flat against rule), tail length, bill
length (exposed culmen) and size of tail spot (taken on an outermost
rectrix, from the tip of the feather to the proximal edge of the spot in the
middle of the inner vane) are in millimetres; bills and tails were measured
with dial calipers. Immatures and birds with extremely worn feathers
were omitted. Colour comparisons were made largely by eye, but dorsal
colouration in selected samples was measured also with an Applied Color
System Spectro-Sensor II Reflectance Spectrophotometer. ‘The names
of islands in Table 1 and Figure 2 are listed roughly in geographic
sequence from north to south, and the Guadeloupe samples include
specimens from the island dependencies Désirade and Marie-Galante.

D.W. Buden 79 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)
Wing Length
A 44
B 21
C 44
D2 8
E 36
Reo
G 10

(ee ie ae a | I
112 118 124 130

Tail Length
Near?

B 19
C 40

E 32
E20

SS Raff es dea ea a
84 90 94 100

Figure 2. Ranges of 0.95 confidence for the means of wing and tail measurements (mm) in
samples of Margarops fuscus. A= Leeward Islands (Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts, Nevis,
Barbuda, Antigua, Montserrat), B= Guadeloupe, C= Dominica, D = Martinique, E=St.
Lucia, F=St. Vincent, G= Grenada; numbers after locality codes are sample sizes with
sexes combined.

Scaly-breasted Thrashers from Guadeloupe and its dependencies
northward tend to average larger than those from the south, and with no
appreciable differences between sexes (Table 1). The cline is somewhat
irregular for bill length but smooth for wing and tail measurements,
except that the St. Lucia birds deviate in having longer wings (on the
average) than do those from Martinique and Dominica to the north. In
wing and tail measurements, specimens from the Leeward Islands (Saba
southward to Montserrat) are similarly sized and together with those
from Guadeloupe average distinctly larger than those from Dominica
southward (Fig. 2). The two Barbados birds fall within the range of
variation of other southern samples in most measurements, but in tail
length the female exceeds the limits of all but the St. Lucia sample. The
tips of the bills appear to have been broken or are excessively worn in both
specimens resulting in measurements near the lower extreme for all
samples combined.

D. W. Buden 80 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)
32

ice
S

» Paleness >
No
oo

10 11 12
» Redness}

Figure 3. Plot of spectrophotometry values for dorsal colouration in selected samples of
Margarops fuscus. A=‘“‘northern islands’’:—Leeward Islands (Saba, St. Kitts, Nevis,
Barbuda, Antigua, Montserrat) (solid circles) and Guadeloupe (open circles), B= ‘‘central
islands”:—Dominica (solid squares) and Martinique (open squares), C= ‘southern
islands’’:—St. Lucia (open stars), St. Vincent (solid triangles), D = Barbados.

In dorsal colouration, specimens from the northern islands tend to be
paler brown than those from the south (Fig. 3). Adjacent populations over-
lap broadly in this character, but differences are evident when series are
compared. Geographical differences in ventral colouration are much less
marked and not so consistent within samples, but specimens from St.
Vincent tend to be slightly darker below than those from other islands. The
white spots on the tips of the tail feathers are largest in birds from St. Lucia
and especially small in the two from Barbados, some wear notwithstanding.

Several specimens from different islands are distinctly more reddish-
brown or rufous than others, apparently foxed. Bangs & Penard (1920)
suggested that the reddish colour of Daubenton’s illustration of Gobe-
Mouche brun de la Martinique might be due to a change in pigment over
the years, and they remarked on its resemblance chromatically to the type
of Turdus montanus Lafresnaye from Guadeloupe, ‘which in its present

D. W. Buden 81 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

105

100

©
nn

Tail Length

No}
iS

80

10 15 20
Tail Spot

Figure 4. Plot of measurements (mm) of tail length versus size of tail spot on outermost
rectrix in samples of Margarops fuscus. A= Leeward Islands (Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts,
Nevis, Barbuda, Antigua, Montserrat) (solid circles), Guadeloupe (open circles), Dominica
(solid squares), Martinique (open squares), St. Vincent (solid triangles), Grenada (open
triangles); B= Barbados; C=St. Lucia.

faded condition from long exposure to the light, is much redder above
than fresh specimens ...’’ The Lafresnaye specimen (MCZ 76370) was
originally a display mount, which may account for its being somewhat
paler on its presumably more exposed left side. The type of Margarops
montanus rufus Cory (FMNH 29031) was examined for me by D. Maurer,
who considered it similar in colouration to other examples of M. fuscus
in the FMNH collection, and not noticeably rufescent. Among the 45
M. fuscus from Dominica that I examined, two (FMNH 29302 and
USNM 90601) are apparently faded reddish-brown.

The two specimens from Barbados lack the extreme reddish-brown
hue of the obviously discoloured birds, but both are distinctly more
reddish dorsally than is characteristic of examples from other islands
(Fig 3). The age of the specimens alone cannot account for this disparity
as examples collected during the late 1800s are chromatically similar to
those collected on the same islands during the 1960s. The early history of
the two specimens is uncertain. Museum accession records indicate that
both apparently were a part of Thayer’s shipment of 74 Barbados bird

D.W. Buden 82 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

specimens received by the AMNH in February 1926. But the museum
archives also contain a handwritten packing slip from Thayer that reads
in part: “Barbados Allenia (rare, local breeding resident) taken back (to
be returned) for study, comparison of a few more Barbados & many
St. Vincent specimens, and perhaps description of a new race.”

Bond (1956) stated that specimens from ‘“‘Barbuda, Antigua and
(particularly) Barbados’’ are browner above than others. His inference
that Barbados birds are more similar chromatically to those from the
Leeward Islands (at least Barbuda and Antigua) than to those from the
southern islands agrees with my observations generally and contradicts
Noble’s (1916) opinion that Barbados birds are more similar to examples
from the south (Grenada) in being darker than those from the north
(Guadeloupe). Whatever evidence (specimens?) led Noble to this
conclusion was left unstated.

‘Thayer apparently considered Barbados birds worthy of subspecific
recognition as the older of the two labels on AMNH 325625 bears the
notation ‘‘Allenia montana [atlantica] proposed name G. H. T.’’ The
range of variation of M. fuscus on Barbados obviously cannot be
adequately assessed by only two specimens, but in view of its rarity there
(if still extant), additional material is unlikely to be forthcoming. As
both specimens are similar to each other mensurally and chromatically
and differ from others to the same degree generally as others that I
consider nomenclaturally distinct differ among themselves, I propose the
Barbados birds be treated as a separate subspecies under the name

Margarops fuscus atlanticus subsp. nov.

Holotype. AMNH 325625; male; Barbados, east side, elev. c. 900 feet
(274 m); collected 18 March 1924 by G. H. Thayer and Sinclair Clark.

Diagnosis. A subspecies of M. fuscus characterized by a reddish brown
dorsum and small amount of white in the tail.

Range. Known only from Barbados, West Indies.

Etymology. From the name “‘Allenia montana atlantica”’ suggested by
G. H. Thayer, presumably alluding to the location of Barbados on the
western edge of the Atlantic Ocean, or more specifically to the eastern
(=Atlantic-facing) side of the island where the only known specimens
were collected.

For the population of relatively large and pale birds in the northern
Lesser Antilles, I propose the name

Margarops fuscus hypenemus subsp. nov.

Holotype. LSUMZ 142124 (original number AS 4349); male; 1.5 m1.
(2.4 km) SW Lodge, St. Mary Cayon Parish, St. Christopher (=St. Kitts),
West Indies; collected 18 April 1962 by Albert Schwartz.

Diagnosis. A subspecies of M. fuscus characterized by large size
(wing length averaging 122.8 to 126.0mm vs. 114.5 to 120.6 in other
subspecies) and relatively pale brown dorsum lacking the rufescence of
M. f. atlanticus.

D. W. Buden 83 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

Range. Known from the northern Lesser Antilles on Saba,
St. Eustatius, St. Kitts, Nevis, Barbuda, Antigua, Montserrat, and
Guadeloupe (including dependencies Désirade and Marie-Galante),
and probably occurring on St. Martin based on sight records of M. fuscus
by Robbins (in Bond 1984).

Etymology. From the Greek word for “‘leeward”’ in allusion to the name
Leeward Islands for the Lesser Antilles north of Guadeloupe, those
islands to which this race is nearly confined.

For the population on St. Lucia, I propose the name

Margarops fuscus schwartzi subsp. nov.

Holotype. LSUMZ 142125 (original number AS 3532); male;
L’ Hermitage, Dauphin Quarter, St. Lucia, West Indies; collected 18
January 1962 by Albert Schwartz.

Diagnosis. A subspecies of M. fuscus characterized by a large amount
of white on the tail, the spots on the tips of the outermost rectrices
averaging larger (absolutely and relative to tail length) than in other
subspecies, and wing length averaging larger than in M. f. fuscus and
dorsum slightly darker thanin M. f. hypenemus and lacking the rufescence
of M. f. atlanticus.

Range. Known only from St. Lucia, West Indies.

Etymology. Named after Albert Schwartz in recognition of his
contributions to our knowledge of West Indian biogeography, and whose
extensive collection of M. fuscus constituted much of the comparative
material used in this study.

Specimens examined

M. f. hypenemus, 51 33, 41292, 3 unsexed. Saba 2 gg, 399 (AS), 3dg (USNM);
St. Eustatius 1 Jj (MCZ), 23g (FMNB), 1 ¢ (USNM); St. Kitts 4 gg, 2 99 (AS), 3 dd
(FMNB), 2 gg, 222 (MCZ), 3 299 (USNM); Nevis 4 gd, 2 99 (AS); Barbuda 2 33, 12
(AMNB), 2 92 (USNM); Antigua1 3, 3 99(AMNH), 1 3 (AS), 454, 3 99 (FMNH), 3 3d,
2 22 (USNM); Montserrat 3 gg, 12 (AS), 12 (USNM); Guadeloupe 1 3, 229 (AMNH),
1 unsexed (AS), 4 gg, 9 22, 1 unsexed (MCZ), 2 3g, 492 (FMNB), 3 3d, 2 22 (USNM);
Désirade 1 unsexed (AS), 1 d (FMNH); Marie-Galante 2 99 (AS), 1 ¢(USNM).

M. f. fuscus, 48 33, 44 29, 2 unsexed; Dominica7 33, 6 292 (AMNB), 13 3g, 11 99 (AS),
12(FMNB), 4g, 3 92 (MCZ), 13,12 (USNM); Martinique 2 gg, 12 (AS), 45g, 2 22
(FMNH), 2 unsexed (MCZ), 1g (USNM); St. Vincent 2 99 (AMNB), 434, 2 29 (AS),
2 33,7 22 (MCZ), 4 33, 3 292 (USNM); Grenada 1 J (AMNH), 5 64,5 99 (FMNH).

M. f. schwartzi, 28 3g, 8 29, 9 unsexed; St. Lucia 1 J, 2 99 (AMNBH), 21 3d, 2 22 (AS),
2 29 (FMNH), 3 3d, 12, 9 unsexed (MCZ), 3 fg, 12 (USNM.

M.f. atlanticus. Barbados 1 3, 129 (AMNH).

Summary

Four subspecies of M. fuscus are recognized—M. f. hypenemus in the northern Lesser
Antilles to as far south as Guadeloupe and its dependencies Désirade and Marie-Galante
(large size, pale to medium brown dorsum, and moderate to large-sized tail spots),
M.f. fuscus from Dominica southward to Grenada excluding St. Lucia and Barbados (small
to moderate size, medium to dark brown dorsum, and small to moderate-sized tail spots),
M. f. schwartzi on St Lucia (moderate size, medium to dark brown dorsum, and large tail
pots), and WM. f. atlanticus on Barbados (moderate size, reddish brown dorsum, and small
tail spots).

D. W. Buden 84 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

Acknowledgements

For the loan of comparative material, I thank the curators, collections managers and
technicians at the American Museum of Natural History, New York; Academy of Natural
Sciences of Philadelphia; Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago; Louisiana State
University Museum of Natural Science; Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard
University; and the National Museum of Natural History, Washington. I am also
appreciative of the replies by museum staff to queries concerning holdings of M. fuscus at the
British Museum (Natural History), Tring; Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh; Florida State
Museum, University of Florida; and Yale Peabody Museum, New Haven. I thank A. V.
Andors for furnishing information from AM NH archives, R. A. Paynter, Jr. for permission
to keep borrowed specimens at the MCZ, M. Hutt for his records of M. fuscus on Barbados,
and Lawrence Sheftel, president, Reed Plastics Co., for use of a spectrophotometer.

References:

American Ornithologists’ Union. 1983. Check-list of North American Birds. 6th edn.
American Ornithologists’ Union.

Bangs, O. & Penard, T. E. 1920. Notes on some American birds, chiefly neotropical. Bull.
Mus. Comp. Zool. 64: 365-397.

Bond, J. 1956. Check-list of Birds of the West Indies. 4th edn. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia.

Bond, J. 1959. Fourth Supplement to the Check-list of Birds of the West Indies (1956). Acad.
Nat. Sci. Philadelphia.

Bond, J. 1961. Birds of the West Indies. 1st American edn. Houghton Mifflin Co.

Bond, J. 1962. Seventh Supplement to the Check-list of Birds of the West Indies (1956). Acad.
Nat. Sci. Philadelphia.

Bond, J. 1977. Twenty-first Supplement to the Checklist of Birds of the West Indies (1956).
Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia.

Bond, J. 1984. Twenty-fifth Supplement to the Check-list of Birds of the West Indies (1956).
Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia.

Cabanis, J. 1874. Protokoll der LXIV. 7. Orn. 22: 350-351.

Clark, A. H. 1905. Birds of the southern Lesser Antilles. Proc. Boston. Soc. Nat. Hist. 32:
203-312.

Cory, C. B. 1888. Description of a supposed new form of Margarops from Dominica. Auk 5:
47

Cory, C. B. 1891. Notes on West Indian birds. Auk 8: 41—46.

Cory, C. B. 1892. Catalogue of West Indian Birds. Privately published by the author. Alfred
Mudge & Son.

Hartlaub, G. 1857. System der Ornithologie Westafrica’s. Druck und Verlag von C.
Schtnemann, Bremen.

Lawrence, G. N. 1887. Description of a new species of thrush from the island of Grenada,
West Indies. Ann. New York Acad. Sci. 4: 23-24.

Lichtenstein, H. 1854. Nomenclator Avium Musei Zoologici Berolinensis. Buchdruckerei der
Ko6niglichen Akademie der Wissenschaften.

Noble, G. K. 1916. The resident birds of Guadeloupe. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 60: 359-396.

Riley, J. H. 1904. Catalogue of a collection of birds from Barbuda and Antigua, British West
Indies. Smith. Misc. Coll. 47: 277-291.

Address: Dr D. W. Buden, 220 Massasoit Road, Worcester, Massachusetts 01604, U.S.A.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

F. Vuilleumier et al. 85 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

Two notable bird records from Chilean
Patagonia

by Francois Vuilleumier, Angelo P. Capparella & Ivan Lazo
Received 5 May 1992

From 7 to 30 November 1989 an expedition to southern Chile from
the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) conducted studies
of speciation phenomena in Patagonian birds, especially Geositta
(Furnariidae) and Phrygilus (Emberizidae) on both sides of the Strait of
Magellan, Provincia de Magallanes, southern Chile (see Vuilleumier
1991a, 1991b). During that trip we also studied the rest of the avifauna, as
time permitted. Two notable specimens were obtained on the mainland
side of the Strait of Magellan during our survey: (1) the first specimen of
Eremobius phoenicurus (Furnariidae) for Chile, and (2) a southward range
extension of 1500 km for Riparia riparia (Hirundinidae). Both specimens
are now catalogued at AMNH but will eventually be transferred to a
museum in Chile. Tissue samples from these birds are stored at the
Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana State University.

BAND-TAILED EARTHCREEPER, BANDURRILLA TURCA Evemobius
phoenicurus

This first record for Chile is one individual (AM NH 826127) collected
on 28 November 1988 c. 4km southeast of O’Higgins, along the road
from O’ Higgins to Buque Quemado and Punta Delgada (approx. 52°18’S,
69°35’W). O’ Higgins is a small village located on Route 255 about 34 km
by road southwest of the town of Monte Aymond on the border between
Argentina and Chile. The individual was damaged during collecting and
the sex, skull ossification, and irides colour could not be determined. The
damaged bill showed a black maxilla and a pale mandible with a black tip.
The legs and feet were dark grey with the soles paler. The predominantly
grey plumage was damaged, precluding finer analysis or preservation.
The specimen consists mostly of a flat skin type of preparation with
the undamaged rectrices still attached to the pygostyle. Although this
specimen is an incomplete skin, the species can be identified with
certainty because the colour pattern of the tail-feathers is diagnostic. The
central rectrices are brown and the others are reddish chestnut at the
proximal half and blackish brown at the distal half. By comparison with
other furnariids at AMNH we verified that this pattern is unique to
Eremobius phoenicurus.

The bird was collected in a patch of mata negra (Verbena tridens)
in a very open, gently rolling area of grassy Festuca steppe (see Pisano
1977). Other birds noted in the mata negra included Zonotrichia capensis
(abundant), Lessonia rufa (several), Upucerthia dumetaria (one) and
Phrygilus fruticeti (at least one).

This species is not included in works treating the avifauna of Tierra
del Fuego, including its Chilean part (Humphrey et al. 1970, Clark 1986),
or in lists of the birds of Chile (Hellmayr 1932, Araya et al. 1986,
Venegas 1986) or in more general distributional lists (Hellmayr 1925,

F. Vuilleumier 86 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

Peters 1951, Meyer de Schauensee 1982, Sibley & Monroe 1990). A
specimen previously attributed to the island of Tierra del Fuego was
reassigned to Santa Cruz, Argentina, by Vaurie (1980: 221—222).

It is surprising that this species is not mentioned in the standard
faunistic lists for Chile considering the fact that it is widely distributed in
Argentine Patagonia. The possibility exists that is was observed but not
collected on Chilean territory previously. In his paper on the avifauna
of Tierra del Fuego and Chile, Olrog (1948: 507) stated the following:
“En Punta Dungenes [sic], cerca de la frontera argentino chilena
(Santa Cruz-Magallanes) en la entrada del Estrecho de Magallanes, se vio
una pareja en marzo.’’ He added: “‘Muy probablemente esta ave se
encuentra — todavia no citada para Chile — tambien en otras partes de la
Magallanes [sic] y en el norte de Tierra del Fuego.” In his itinerary and
on his map of collecting localities Olrog (1948) did not mention Punta
Dungeness. He cited a male specimen collected at Puerto Gallegos, Santa
Cruz, on 14 January. Presumably this is the same as Rio Gallegos, a
town about 60 km north of the border in Argentina. In his book on the
birds of Chile, Johnson (1967: 156), citing Olrog (1948), stated that
Eremobius phoenicurus was ‘“‘Not yet recorded from Chile but virtually
certain to occur in Patagonian zone of Magallanes’’. Our collecting site
is about 85km west of Punta Dungeness and about 85km south of
Rio Gallegos.

Wetmore (1926: 253) wrote that ‘““Near Zapala [Neuqueén, Argentina]
these birds were found amid patches of low thorny brush that grew on the
slopes of rolling hills, where the soil was composed of sand and stones’’.
He also stated that ‘“‘they worked secretively under cover or ran along on
the ground with the tail cocked at an angle over the back’’. One of us
(F.V.) has recently been able to study Eremobius phoenicurus in Chubut
where he found it in a variety of shrub-steppes ranging from relatively
dense to quite open, but usually without grassy cover on the ground.
Vuilleumier’s observations closely match Wetmore’s cited above. The
specimen we collected in Chile was found in scrub that is patchily
distributed on the leeward hillsides of the northwestern shore of the
Strait of Magellan and that is physiognomically similar to the habitat it
was found to occupy in Chubut.

BANK SWALLOW/SAND MARTIN, GOLONDRINA BARRANQUERA Riparia
riparia

One adult ¢ (AMNH 826149; skull 100% ossified; left testis 2 x 1 mm)
was collected 12 November 1989 from a flock of four species of swallows
that were foraging very low over the mouth of the Rio Santa Maria and
over nearby sandbars and a gravel beach, about 2 km south of San Juan on
the Brunswick Peninsula (approx. 53°40'S, 70°58’W). This area is about
65 km south of Punta Arenas. Besides the one Riparia riparia collected,
the flock included about 50 Tachycineta leucopyga, 2 Notiochelidon
cyanoleuca and 1 Hirundo rustica. The 12-gram individual Riparia riparia
had moderate fat along the sides and in the abdominal cavity. No body,
wing or tail moult was apparent. Its stomach contained insects. Other
specimen data: irides dark brown, bill black, mouth lining yellow, tarsi
and toes flesh-coloured.

F. Vuilleumier 87 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

This species has never been recorded south of central Chile (Valdivia) or
central Argentina (Buenos Aires) (Ridgely & Tudor 1990). Most records are
from east of the Andes. Therefore the most likely route that this individual
took was down through Argentine Patagonia to the Brunswick Peninsula
in Chilean Patagonia. Future observations are needed to determine if this
species is a rare but regular visitor to the Strait of Magellan.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful for the financial help of the Leonard C. Sanford Fund (to F.V.) and of the
Frank M. Chapman Fund (to A.P.C.). We thank Gladys Garay for her help in the field and
Paul Sweet for his assistance with the preparation of the manuscript. We thank the
authorities of the Servicio Agricola y Ganadero (Division de Proteccion de los Recursos
Naturales Renovables), Ministerio de Agricultura, in Santiago and Punta Arenas for
having granted us the necessary collecting permits. We are indebted to the personnel
of the Instituto de la Patagonia-Universidad de Magallanes in Punta Arenas, especially
L. Guzman, E. Pisano, E. Scott and C. Venegas, for their assistance. Finally, we thank
J. Jordan for many courtesies extended to us while in southern Chile.

References

Araya M., B., Millie H., G. & Bernal M., M. 1986. Guia de Campo de las Aves de Chile.
Editorial Universitaria, Santiago.

Clark, R. 1986. Aves de Tierra del Fuego y Cabo de Hornos. Guia de Campo. Libreria
L.O.L.A., Buenos Aires.

Hellmayr, C. E. 1925. Catalogue of birds of the Americas. Part IV. Furnariidae—
Dendrocolaptidae. Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Publ. 234. Zool. Ser. XXI1: i-ix, 1-390.

Hellmayr, C. E. 1932. The birds of Chile. Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Publ. 308. Zool. Ser. XIX:
1—472.

Humphrey, P.S., Bridge, D., Reynolds, P. W. & Peterson, R. T. 1970. Birds of Isla Grande
( Tierra del Fuego). Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

Johnson, A. W. 1967. The Birds of Chile and Adjacent Regions of Argentina, Bolivia and
Peru. Vol. 2. Platt Establ. Graficos, Buenos Aires.

Meyer de Schauensee, R. 1982. A Guide to the Birds of South America. 2nd rev. edn.
Intercollegiate Press (no city given).

Olrog, C. C. 1948. Observaciones sobre la avifauna de Tierra del Fuego y Chile. Acta Zool.
Lilloana 5: 437-531.

Peters, J. L. 1951. Check-list of the Birds of the World. Vol. 7. Museum of Comparative
Zoology, Harvard.

Pisano V., E. 1977. Fitogeografia de Fuego-Patagonia Chilena. I—Comunidades vegetales
entre las latitudes 52 y 56°S. Anales del Instituto de la Patagonia 8: 121-250.

Ridgely R.S. & Tudor, G. 1990. The Birds of South America. Vol. 1. The oscine passerines.
Univ. of Texas Press, Austin.

Sibley, C. G. & Monroe, B. L., Jr. 1990. Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World.
Yale Univ. Press.

Vaurie, C. 1980. Taxonomy and geographical distribution of the Furnariidae (Aves,
Passeriformes). Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 166: 1-357.

Venegas C., C. 1986. Aves de Patagonia y Tierra del Fuego Chileno-Argentina. Univ.
Magallanes, Punta Arenas.

Vuilleumier, F. 1991a. A quantitative survey of speciation phenomena in Patagonian birds.
Orn. Neotrop. 2: 5-28.

Vuilleumier, F. 1991b. Speciation in Patagonian birds. Acta XX Congr. Internat. Ornithol.:
327-333.

Wetmore, A. 1926. Observations on the birds of Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Chile.
Bull U.S. Natl Mus. 133: 1-448.

Addresses: Dr F. Vuilleumier, Department of Ornithology, American Museum of Natural
History, 79th Street at Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5192, U.S.A. Dr A. P.
Capparella, Department of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL
61762, U.S.A. Mr I. Lazo A., Casilla 51562, Correo Central, Santiago 1, Chile.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

P. Alstrom & K. Mild 88 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)
The taxonomic status of Anthus bertheloti

by Per Alstrém & Krister Mild
Received 14 May 1992

The taxonomic status of Anthus berthelotii, endemic to the Canary Islands
and Madeira, has been disputed. The early authors referred it to, in
succession, A. trivialis (Webb, Berthelot & Moquin-Tandon, 1836—44),
A. pratensis (Vernon Harcourt, 1853) and A. campestris (Bolle, 1857),
and finally recognized it as a distinct species (Bolle 1862). The latter
author suggested that it has close affinities with both the A. spinoletia
complex* and with A. campestris. Hartert (1910) argued against the
proposed relationship with the A. spinoletta complex, but did not
propose an alternative view on its systematic position. Lack & Southern
(1949) and Volsge (1951) considered it to be an old insular form of
A. campestris. Hall (1961) argued that depending on which characters are
selected as being of most importance, A. berthelotit could be closely
related to A. campestris as well as to several other Anthus species. Most
modern taxonomists (Vaurie 1959, Voous 1977, Sibley & Monroe 1990)
seem to follow Lack & Southern (op. cit.) and Volsge (op. cit.), placing
A. berthelotii immediately after A. campestris in the systematic sequence.
Recently, however, Bourne & Roselaar in Cramp (1988) suggested that
A. berthelotii has closer affinities with the A. spinoletta complex.

The aim of this paper is to reaffirm that A. berthelotii is most closely
related to A. campestris. A. berthelotii was studied on Gran Canaria
in August 1978 and on Madeira in October and November 1986 and
January 1987. Museum skins were studied in the British Museum
(Natural History), Tring, Tape-recordings of A. bertheloti1, obtained
from the British Library of Wildlife Sounds and Dr. Hans-Wolfgang
Helb, as well as KM’s recordings, were analysed. The literature was
searched for relevant data.

The term ‘larger’ pipits refers to A. richardi, A. godlewskiu, A.
campestris, A. similis and A. sylvanus of the Palaearctic pipits, whereas
‘smaller’ pipits refers to the other Palaearctic pipits.

Range

Anthus berthelotii is endemic to the Canary Islands and Madeira, where
it is resident. The population of Madeira and Porto Santo is regarded as a
separate subspecies, madeirensis, with slightly longer bill compared to
the nominate subspecies. No other Anthus species breeds on these
islands; A. pratensis and A. trivialis, possibly also A. campestris, are
the only other pipits recorded (Bannermann 1963, Bannermann &
Bannerman 1965, Cramp 1988). A. campestris (breeding in North Africa
and southern and central Iberian Peninsula) is the only pipit breeding
near A. berthelotiz.

*Consisting of A. spinoletta, A. petrosus, and A. rubescens, formerly regarded as conspecific
but now usually recognized as separate species (see Alstrom & Mild 1987, Knox 1988).

P. Alstrém & K. Mild 89 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

TABLE 1
Ratios of tail/wing, bill/wing and tarsus/wing (mean values) of four pipits. Bill length
measured to skull. Personal measurements of museum specimens.

Tail/wing Bill/wing ‘Tarsus/wing
A. berthelotii (n=42) 0.76 0.22 0.30
A. c. campestris (n> 100) 0.73 0.21 0.28
A. p. petrosus + littoralis (n> 100) 0.69 0.20 0.26
A. pratensis (n> 100) 0.71 0.18 0.27

Habitat

A. berthelotii prefers dry, open areas interspersed with bushes. On
Madeira it is associated with open grasslands, especially on the upland
plateau, but also occurs in overgrazed, dry, secondary grasslands along
the coast. In the Canary Islands it is found from sea-level to about
2500-3000 m. Here it occurs in a wider variety of habitats such as open
cultivated ground, shrub-covered mountain slopes, dunes, semi-desert
areas of volcanic rock and in more restricted open places in wooded
areas such as clearings and tracks (Bannermann 1963, Bannermann &
Bannerman 1965, Cramp 1988, and personal observations).

A. berthelotit’s habitat preferences match those of A. campestris. In
this respect they differ from all other western Palaearctic pipits, except for
A. similis.

Size and structure

A. berthelotit is the smallest Palaearctic pipit, being marginally smaller
than A. pratensis. However, in the field it often gives the impression of
being considerably larger, probably because of its proportionately long
tail, tarsus and bill—a further indication of its closer relationship to the
‘larger’ pipits (Table 1).

Bourne & Roselaar (loc. cit.) state that structure of wing, bill and
foot suggest closer affinities with the A. spinoletta complex than with
A. campestris. We do not agree with this, since both wing-formula and
foot (especially hind claw) are also very similar to A. campestris. The bill
of A. bertheloti is indeed long and slender and reminiscent of that of
A. spinoletta, although it is proportionally longer (Table 1).

In fresh plumage all of the ‘smaller’ pipits have their tertials rather
evenly spaced, unlike all of the ‘larger’ species. In A. berthelotii the
spacing of the tertials is the same as in the ‘larger’ pipits (Fig. 1).

Plumage and bare parts

Bourne & Roselaar (loc. cit.) argued that general colour, pattern on
sides of head and streaking on chest suggest a closer relationship with
A. spinoletta/petrosus than with A. campestris. We do not agree that the
general coloration of A. bertheloti is closer to that of the A. spinoletta
complex than to A. campestris; it is distinctly different from both.
Moreover, in our opinion, the pattern on the side of the head of
A. berthelotii is definitely closer to that of A. campestris than to
A. spinoletta|petrosus. A. berthelotii shows a complete eye-ring, a distinct

P. Alstrém & K. Mild 90 Bull. B.O.C, 1993 113(2)

A B C
Figure 1. Tertial spacing in ‘larger’ pipit (A), Anthus bertheloti (B), and ‘smaller’ pipit (C).

moustachial stripe and rather pale ear-coverts with a darker eye-stripe
behind the eye, much like A. campestris, whereas A. spinoletta/petrosus
show a broken eye-ring, an indistinct moustachial stripe and rather
uniformly dark ear-coverts. The distinct streaking on the underside of A.
berthelotii may seem to indicate a closer affinity with A. spinoletta/petrosus
than with A. campestris, as suggested by Bourne & Roselaar. However, in
A. berthelotii the streaks are usually smaller, darker and more sharply
defined than in A. spinoletta/petrosus, and more confined to the breast.

The tail-pattern of A. bertheloti is very similar to that of A.
campestris, the penultimate feather showing a rather long pale wedge. In
A. spinoletta/petrosus the second outermost rectrix shows at the most a
small pale wedge. The median and greater coverts of A. bertheloti are
patterned more as in A. spinoletta/petrosus. In A. bertheloti the tarsus/
toes and base of the lower mandible are flesh-coloured as in A. campestris,
while in spinoletta/petrosus the tarsus/toes, and in the breeding season also
the lower mandible, are usually dark brown or blackish.

‘To conclude, in our opinion, the plumage of A. bertheloti is distinctly
different from all other western Palaearctic pipits although closest to
A. campestris.

The juvenile plumage of A. bertheloti is clearly different from the
subsequent plumages. In juveniles the mantle feathers, and to a lesser
extent also the scapulars and crown, have extensive, rather clear-cut dark
centres and narrow, pale fringes (looking scalloped when fresh), whereas
in subsequent plumages these feathers are rather uniformly coloured,
with less extensive and more diffuse dark markings and no distinct pale
fringes. Moreover, the juvenile median and greater coverts, tertials
and central pair of tail-feathers have more clear-cut dark centres and
somewhat paler fringes/edges than in fresh adult. The juvenile plumage
of A. berthelotiu is basically similar to that of A. campestris, as well as to
that of the other ‘larger’ Palaearctic pipits. In the ‘smaller’ species, on the
other hand, the juvenile plumage is basically similar to the adult.

P. Alstrém & K. Mild 91 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

Moult

Unlike other Palaearctic pipits except A. similis, A. sylvanus and
most A. p. petrosus and some A. p. littoralis, A. bertheloti lacks the partial
pre-breeding moult of head and body feathers. Bourne & Roselaar
suggest that this indicates a closer relationship with A. spinoletta/petrosus
than with A. campestris. In our opinion the lack of a pre-breeding moult
is of little taxonomic importance and merely reflects the fact that
A. berthelotii is a resident insular bird with no need to moult in spring.

Vocalisation

The song is very simple. It consists of a single dissyllabic note,
monotonously repeated approximately every second or slightly slower;
tchelee tchelee tchelee tchelee tchelee. ..'The song 1s very similar to that of
A. campestris, but usually each unit is repeated somewhat faster and the
tone is less melancholy. The song is very different from that of all the
‘smaller’ pipits of the Palaearctic, which have more varied and more
complex songs, typically consisting of a long series of several different
segments and usually including trills as well as more fluty notes. See
Bergmann & Helb (1982) and Cramp (1988) for sonagrams and more
detailed descriptions of the song of A. berthelotiz.

Like most other pipits, A. berthelotii gives a variety of calls. The
most common one, given both in flight and from the ground, is a single
tcheLEE or tchirlee, similar to asong-unit but somewhat shorter and more
explosive. Other calls are a somewhat lower-pitched chup and a slightly
nasal tcheep. These calls are reminiscent of the corresponding calls of
A. campestris, but they are distinctly different from the calls of the
‘smaller’ pipits.

Behaviour

The song-flight of A. bertheloti is significantly different from that
of the ‘smaller’ pipits, but is very similar to that of the ‘larger’ pipits,
especially A. campestris. During the song-flight the male sings while
circling in deep undulations for some time, and then plunges silently to
the ground. The ‘smaller’ pipits (except A. gustavi) usually ascend from
a perch and then, as the peak is reached, ‘parachute’ to a perch or the
ground; the song is usually given both on the ascent and on the descent.

Like the ‘larger’ pipits A. berthelotii does not display the characteristic
antagonistic behaviour, with drooping wings and slightly raised tail, of
the males of most ‘smaller’ pipits (except for A. trivialis, A. hodgsoni and
A. gustavt).

Discussion

In our opinion A. bertheloti clearly belongs to the group of the ‘larger’
pipits. This is demonstrated by, e.g., (1) the tertial spacing, (2) the
juvenile plumage, (3) the primitive song, (4) the undulating song-flight,
and (5) the lack of the antagonistic behaviour of the males of most
‘smaller’ pipits.

Although our experience of Anthus species from the Afrotropical
region is limited to studies of museum specimens and the literature, none
appears to be very closely related to A. berthelotii. However, several

P. Alstrém & K. Mild 92 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

characters indicate a close relationship between A. berthelotii and
A. campestris. (1) The distribution of A. berthelotii constitutes an
extension of that of A. campestris, thus indicating that A. berthelotii may
be an island isolate of A. campestris. (2) The preference for dry, open
habitats perfectly matches the choice of habitat of A. campestris, but
disagrees with that of all other western Palaearctic pipits, except for
A. similis. (3) The plumage is closer to that of A. campestris than to that of
any other western Palaearctic pipit. (4) The song-flight is most similar to
that of A. campestris. (5) ‘The song 1s very similar to that of A. campestris.

Acknowledgements

We thank the British Museum (Natural History) for permitting us to work in their
collections. We are also grateful to Richard Ranft of the British Library of Wildlife Sounds,
London, and Dr Hans-Wolfgang Helb for providing us with tape-recordings. Dr Carl
Edelstam and Lars Svensson kindly commented on an earlier draft of this manuscript. For
their provision of opinions, criticism and various assistance, we thank Goran Bridén,
Ole Folmer, Ante Strand and Karin Sundvall.

References:

Alstrom, P. & Mild, K. 1987. Some notes one the taxonomy of the Water Pipit complex.
Proceedings of the 4th International Identification Meeting (Eilat): 47—48.

Bannermann, D. A. 1963. Birds of the Atlantic islands. Vol. 1. Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh.

Bannermann, D. A. & Bannermann, W. M. 1965. Birds of the Atlantic islands. Vol. 2. Oliver
& Boyd, Edinburgh.

Bergmann, H. & Helb, H-W. 1982. Stimmen der Vogel Europas. Munchen.

Bolle, C. 1857. Mein zweiter Beitrag zur Vogelkunde der Canarischen Inseln. ¥. Orn. 5:
258-292.

Bolle, C. 1862. Anthus berthelotit, eine neue Pieperart. 7. Orn. 10: 357-360.

Cramp, S. (ed.) 1988. The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Vol. 5. Oxford Univ. Press.

Hall, B. P. 1961. The taxonomy and identification of pipits (genus Anthus). Bull. Brit. Mus.
Nat. Hist. ( Zool.) 7: 245-290.

Hartert, E. 1910. Die Végel der paladarktischen Fauna. Vol. 1. Friedlander und Sohn, Berlin.

Knox, A. 1988. Taxonomy of the Rock/Water Pipit superspecies Anthus petrosus, spinoletta
and rubescens. Brit. Birds 81: 206—211.

Lack, D. & Southern, H. N. 1949. Birds on Tenerife. [bis 91: 607—626.

Sibley, C. G. & Monroe, B. L., Jr. 1990. Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World.
Yale Univ. Press.

Vaurie, C. 1959. The Birds of the Palearctic Fauna. Passeriformes. Witherby, London.

Vernon Harcourt, E. 1853. Birds of Madeira. Annals and Magazine of Natural History,
No. 67.

Volsoe, H. 1951. The breeding birds of the Canary Islands. Vidensk. Medd. dansk nat.
Foren. 113: 1-153.

Voous, K. H. 1977. List of recent Holarctic bird species. Passerines. [bis 119: 223-250,
376—400.

Webb, P. B., Berthelot, S. & Moquin-Tandon, A. in Webb, P. & Berthelot, S. 1836—44.
Histoire naturelle des tiles Canariens, 2, 2. Paris.

Addresses: Per Alstrom, Kungsgatan 3, 46233 Vanersborg, Sweden. Krister Mild,
Kopparvagen 23, 175 72 Jarfalla, Sweden.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

A. Whittaker 93 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

Notes on the behaviour of the Crimson
Fruitcrow Haematoderus militaris near
Manaus, Brazil, with the first nesting record
for this species

by Andrew Whittaker
Received 27 Fune 1992

The Crimson Fruitcrow Haematoderus militaris is one of the most spec-
tacular of the large South American cotingas; yet its ecology and social
behaviour are virtually unknown (Snow 1982). In the Manaus area, the
first sightings of this species were made in 1979 from a 42-m tower in
virgin terra firma forest some 50 km north of Manaus by Bierregaard et al.
(1987), who reported initial observations of the bird’s behaviour and
display flight. This represented an extension of the previously known
distribution in the Guianas, and Amapa and Para in Brazil (Snow 1982).
Subsequently, D. Stotz (pers. comm.) collected a specimen in Rondonia,
some 1000 km southwest of Manaus.

The following observations were made over a five-year period (1987 to
1991) from the tower described by Bierregaard et al. (1987) or from the
nearby forest reserves of the PDBFF (Projeto Dinamica Biologica de
Fragmentos Florestais). This region consists of a mosaic of terra firma
forest and agricultural development (mostly cattle pastures) between
50 and 70km north of Manaus. The forest here is found on nutrient-
poor yellow latosols (Anon. 1978) and has a continuous, 35-m high
canopy with occasional 40—55 m single emergent trees towering above the
rest.

Almost all the sightings of H. militaris were of single birds. They were
located by checking exposed perches in large open-topped emergents or
by following their short, low-pitched bock calls. The birds were always
observed in the canopy and for this reason a clearing or tower greatly
improved the chances of seeing them. The call is normally repeated at
irregular intervals of several seconds. Imitation of the call can sometimes
bring the bird closer into the canopy above the observer. Vocal recordings
by Bierregaard and Mario Cohn-Haft are archived at the Library of
Natural Sound at Cornell University, and at the Instituto de Bioacustica
at the University of Campinas, in Campinas, Sao Paulo.

As with Bierregaard et al. (1987), a high percentage (about 80%) of my
records involved birds in adult male plumage. Only on five occasions were
female-plumaged or juvenile birds seen. On one occasion an adult
male was accompanied by two female-plumaged birds, and on another
occasion by a single female-plumaged bird. The third sighting was of an
adult male which was accompanied by a bird in a plumage similar to the
juvenile plumage described by Snow (1982). The distinct vermiculated
black and white tertials were conspicuous. ‘The fourth record was of a
female-plumaged bird attempting to catch a large flying insect, and the
last record was an individual building a nest.

A. Whittaker 94 Bull. B.O.C, 1993 113(2)

Only on the three occasions mentioned above was more than a solitary
individual bird observed. ‘The adult male and juvenile birds were
observed together at 16.00 hrs on 28 March 1988. The male was seen
sallying for insects from an emergent tree. It sallied for about 10-15 m at
an angle of c. 45° in an unsuccessful attempt to catch a large unidentified
flying insect, returning to the same perch as the immature bird. A few
minutes later bill touching was observed. The pair (adult male and
female-plumaged bird) were observed chasing each other through the
canopy at the edge of a natural treefall clearing on 8 June 1987. The two
birds then perched on the same branch, preened each other and touched
their beaks for about a minute before they flew off calling until they were
out of sight.

Snow (1982) states: ‘The male’s courtship must be one of the most
brilliant displays of all tropical American birds: to see it and describe it is
a prize awaiting some future ornithologist’’. The first records of any
display flights were recorded by Bierregaard et al. (1987). My two further
observations provide a more detailed description of this cotinga’s display.

The third record of two or more birds together involved three birds and
was evidently part of the initial display. At 16.30 hrs on 14 September
1988, in the Agricultural District some 65 km north of Manaus, I was
attracted to a group of three Crimson Fruitcrows by their typical calls.
‘There were two female-plumaged birds and one male. They were
perched on the edge of a 10-ha, isolated forest reserve separated on all
sides from virgin forest by about 250 m of cattle pasture. The weather was
still and sunny and all the birds were very close together in the top of a tall
leafless tree in the corner of the reserve. The two female birds were 1 m
apart and the male some 2m below them. One of the females had an
unusual plumage with the brown-black of the back extending onto the
nape; the rest of the plumage was typical (black wings and tail, crimson
body feathers). The male bird was puffed up with his specialized elon-
gated feathers all erect, moving his head from side to side. He then held
his head motionless at an angle with one eye fixed on the two birds above
him, while the bird in typical female plumage moved closer to the other
female. As the male displayed the latter bird flew off, calling once as it flew
to the adjacent continuous forest. This bird was moulting its primaries.
‘The male continued in its pose, opening his beak while moving his head
from side to side. After about 6 minutes the female which had remained
flew off over the clearing in the same direction as the first bird. The male
returned his feathers to normal, and hopped around a little in the
branches before also leaving silently across the clearing some 9 minutes
later.

On 5 September 1988 the initial preparations for the display flight were
observed at the Manaus observation tower. I saw a bird in male plumage
at one of the regularly used perches in an emergent lecythidaceous tree.
For some time it remained motionless in a partially exposed position. At
08.45 hrs it puffed out its very elongated upper breast feathers and erected
its crest feathers; it started looking around more alertly, and over the next
10 minutes puffed up and erected its plumage five times. It then flew some
200 m over the canopy in its typical undulating, woodpecker-like flight to
another emergent tree of the same species, some 80 m from the tower. As

A. Whittaker 95 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

it arrived, the bird performed a stall above the perch enabling it to drop
more slowly some 50 cm, landing with its crest erect. On a later occasion,
as the bird returned to its perch it again rose up in a stall and dropped
toward the perch, but this time flapped up again above the perch into a
final stall before alighting. It then hopped about the small branches in the
emergent tree, moving its head from side to side.

The bird performed a display flight at 09.03. It climbed steadily at an
angle of about 50—60° with its neck extended and wings beating rapidly
with deep forceful wing-beats almost completely below the plane of the
body. When it reached about 30m above the tree-top it started a slow
descent. During the descent the bird held its wings open above the hori-
zontal in a v form, the tail was fanned out to act as a brake, and all its
crown, upper and lower back and breast feathers were puffed out. This
made the bird look rather like a great crimson rugby ball. As it reached the
level of the tallest emergents it began a slow spiral down into the forest
and out of sight.

Shortly after 09.12 the bird was relocated on one of its regular perches.
During the following few minutes it appeared very agitated, changing
perches several times and puffing out its breast feathers. At 09.26 it took
off on another display flight as before, but on the descent it glided almost
horizontally through the canopy for some 50-80 m before relaxing its
plumage and returning to its undulating flight pattern. It landed about
200 m away in another emergent.

At 08.55 the next morning we again observed the display flight. One
display, from leaving the perch on the upward climb to the landing, was
timed and took 24 seconds. Again at 09.16 and 09.20 the bird was seen
descending from display flights above different emergent trees. During
these observations no other birds were seen and no vocalizations were
heard.

At 13.00 on 4 April J. Stratford (pers. comm.) observed an adult male
bird flying over the road and above the canopy of the terra firma forest
near the reserves. Its flight pattern was noted as very unusual; it was flying
in a normal horizontal plane but its body was held in vertical position,
with the tail spread and the upper tail-coverts all erect and moving in the
wind as the bird passed by. The bird then reverted to a normal flight
pattern and flew into the forest and out of sight.

The diet of this species is still poorly known. During my field work I
observed on several occasions individuals sallying for large flying insects,
often looking clumsy in the attempt but nonetheless with success.
Bierregaard et al. (1987) also recorded this from the tower on one occasion.
R. Ridgely and G. Tudor (pers. comm.) also observed a sub-adult bird
catching two cicadas in the canopy. The bird collected in Rondonia had only
insects in the stomach (D. Stotz pers. comm.). The other two stomach
contents reported by Snow (1982) also only contained insects.

There is nothing recorded about the nesting of H. militaris. At
07.25 hrs on 2 September 1991 repeated vocalizations brought my atten-
tion to the presence of a female-plumaged bird in a large tree on the edge
ofa 100-ha isolated forest reserve. The bird’s plumage was identical to the
female seen on 14 September 1988, with the brown-black extending onto
the nape. She was shuffling about in a broody manner in a slight hollow

A. Whittaker 96 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

formed bya fork ona horizontal branch in the centre of the tree some 20 m
high. She seemed to be arranging what I assumed to be a nest although
nothing was visible from my position. .

At 07.30 the female flew off silently over the clearing to some other trees
along astream some 250 m away. She returned at 07.50 directly to the nest
site, making just one short vocalization. Again she shuffled about, sitting
in a brooding position on the nest-site arranging something, although no
nest-material was seen in the bill. During the next 3 minutes she called
three times before leaving by swooping down into the cover of the nest
tree and then off over the clearing in typical undulating fashion. She
landed in an emergent tree before being lost to sight in the corridor of
forest bordering the stream.

At 08.04 the female returned to a dead tree 20—30 m from the nest-site,
where she called three times before flying to the nest. Again no material
was visible. This time she move in a counterclockwise direction while
sitting on the nest with her bill open, apparently arranging the nest-
material. She flew off silently into the 100-ha reserve at 08.06. At 08.55
and 09.25 she visited the nest and called once; on both occasions she
clearly had nest-material in her beak, apparently tiny rootlets and maybe a
little mud. She settled onto the nest-site, shuffled around, arranged the
material, and wiped her bill several times on the edge of the nest. On the
second visit she remained standing up in the nest, and with her wings held
open in a horizontal position she did one and a half clockwise rotations in
the nest, pushing down the nesting material with her feet. Then she flew
off over the clearing calling twice.

Further observations were made some 30 days later but there was no
evidence of a bird in the vicinity of the nest, but only in the 100-ha reserve
where a bird was heard to call. During a three-month ornithological
survey of this 100-ha isolated reserve I recorded the species 12 times,
mostly by vocalizations; only on two occasions were birds seen.

Acknowledgements

Rob Bierregaard’s numerous suggestions were most helpful in preparing the manuscript.
Philip Stcuffer and Mario Cohn-Haft made many useful comments on the final draft.
Nadime Araujo Whittaker assisted in field work on the tower. I am especially grateful for the
unpublished data and information provided by Douglas F. Stotz, Robert S. Ridgely, Guy
Tudor and J. Stratford.

The field work was supported by the World Wildlife Fund, the Smithsonian Institution
and the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia (INPA), and represents publication
no. 103 (to be completed) in the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project Technical
Series.

References:

Anonymous 1978. Projeto Radambrasil; Folha SA20 Manaus. Ministério de Minas e
Energia: Depto. Nacional de Produgao Mineral. Rio de Janeiro.

Bierregaard, R. O., Jr., Stotz, D. F., Harper, L. H. & Powell, G. V. N. 1987. Observations
on the occurrence and behaviour of the Crimson Fruitcrow Haematoderus militaris in
Central Amazonia. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 107: 134-137.

Snow, D. 1982. The Cotingas. Oxford Univ. Press.

Address: Andrew Whittaker, Projeto Dinamica Biologica de Fragmentos Florestais
(PDBFF), INPA Ecologia, Caixa Postal 478, 69.011 Manaus, AM, Brazil.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

M. Walters 97 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

On the status of the Christmas Island
sandpiper, Aechmorhynchus cancellatus

by Michael Walters
Received 8 Fune 1992

Introduction

Two species of sandpiper have been named and ascribed to the genus
Aechmorhynchus, Tringa cancellata Gmelin, 1789, and T. parvirostris
Peale, 1848. The first is known only from the lost type, considered to have
been collected on Christmas Island, Pacific Ocean, on 1 or 2 January 1778
during Captain Cook’s last voyage. This specimen was figured by
William Ellis in a painting [no. 64] in the Natural History Museum,
London. The accepted date of collection is presumably based on the fact
that Ellis’s painting was dated 1778, and Cook left the island on 2 January.
No other specimens have ever been seen on or around Christmas Island.
T. parvirostris was described by Peale on the basis of specimens collected
by the U.S. Exploring Expedition in the period 1838—42 in the Tuamotu
Archipelago. It had not been seen for a number of years prior to its
rediscovery by the Moser Expedition 1899-1900, and subsequently by
R. H. Beck in 1921. The problem is whether the Christmas Island popu-
lation was of the same, or a different, taxon to that of the Tuamotos.
(Throughout this paper the name Aechmorhynchus will be used, although
the genus has recently been considered congeneric with Prosobonia (Zusi
& Jehl 1970).)

Stresemann (1950) and others who have examined Ellis’s plate of the
Christmas Island bird concluded that it was probably the same as the
Tuamotu population, and this was accepted by Greenway (1958) without
further enquiry. Seebohm (1888) merged parvirostris in cancellatus, but
Townsend & Wetmore (1919) separated them on the grounds that the
description of the latter by John Latham (1785) states that the bill was one
inch (26 mm) long and the underparts were barred, whereas of the four
available specimens of parvirostris the longest bill was only 18 mm and the
underparts were unmarked. Zuzi & Jehl (1970) were of the opinion that
these distinctions do not in fact apply, on the grounds that bill lengths
given by Latham are often imprecise and therefore the length of one inch
does not necessarily indicate a longer bill in cancellatus. Similarly, barring
on the underparts of parvirostris is variable and cannot therefore be used
as a distinguishing feature. They therefore dismiss parvirostris as a
synonym of cancellatus. However, it is not as simple as that.

The problem

Christmas Island is approximately 2000 miles from the Tuamotus. It
seems unlikely that two sedentary populations of asandpiper would occur
on these two groups, and on no others in the South Pacific, without having
diverged to some extent. There are therefore several possibilities to be

M. Walters 98 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

considered: (1) The two populations were identical. (2) The two popu-
lations differed. (3) There never was an endemic population on Christmas
Island, the single specimen was in fact a vagrant. (4) The locality is an
error, and the specimen was not collected on Christmas Island at all, but
in the Tuamotos. (5) The species formerly occurred widely in the South
Pacific, but in historic times had been rapidly decimated, and was practi-
cally extinct on Christmas Island by the time of Cook’s visit. Possibility 5
(which follows on from 1) is not provable except by the discovery of
bones on Pacific islands which could be attributed to this taxon. 3 seems
unlikely, but again is not capable of proof. 4 can also be dismissed, as Cook
did not visit the Tuamotos on the third voyage.

The specimens

‘The type of cancellatus was brought back safely to Britain and passed into
the Banksian Collection where Latham saw and described it as the
‘““Barred Phalarope”’:

Length 7 inches and a half. Bill one inch, black: the feathers on the upper
parts of the bird brown, edged with white: under parts white, transversely
barred with dusky: quills dusky, with the ends brown, and the margins
and tips very pale: tail the same, spotted on both webs with white: legs
dusky. Inhabits Christmas Island. In the collection of Sir Joseph Banks.

This description was the basis of Gmelin’s name. The subsequent fate of
the specimen is unknown. Lysaght (1959) says that the length of the bird
as given by Latham (75 inches) agrees neither with Ellis’s plate nor with a
manuscript description by William Anderson.

Ellis’s painting of cancellatus depicts a bird closely related to parvirostris
but with shorter hind toes. The underparts are much paler than in the five
NHM specimens of parvirostris, but the most striking difference is the
head pattern: parvirostris has a white superciliary stripe, very thin or
absent in front of the eye and most prominent behind it; cancellatus has no
white stripe behind the eye, but a very broad prominent one in front of it.

Peale’s (1848: 235-6) description of parvirostris states that the bill is
green, black at the tip, the legs olive green and the irides brown. The
females paler than the males. Peale found it common on Dog Island, rare
on Raraka. He said that there is a superciliary line which is nearly white.
Cassin (1858) revised Peale’s work a decade later, and added plates which
were intended to (but did not) accompany the earlier work. His plate of
parvirostris depicts a nondescript sandpiper with no very distinctive
features. There is a faintly pale area before, behind and under the eye,
with a faint dark streak from the eye to the base of the bill, the throat is pale
with barring commencing on the chest and continuing on the flanks. The
back and wings are brown with pale edges to the feathers, the primaries
have less pale edges. The tail feathers are brown with some white barring
on the edges of the outer webs. The descriptions of Peale and Cassin do
not disagree with the plate.

P. R. Lowe (1927) examined and discussed parvirostris. He pointed out
that the flying capacity of parvirostris had not degenerated at all; it had full
powers of flight, which Lowe considered remarkable for a wader which

M. Walters 99 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

was sedentary and confined to a single archipelago. ‘This suggests the
possibility that the bird was formerly more widely distributed. Lowe
suggested that because the Bristle-thighed Curlew Numenzius tahitiensis
was first collected by Peale in the same place as parvirostris, the latter may
originally have had a similar distribution. But there is no known instance
of a migratory bird abandoning migration and settling down to a seden-
tary existence in one of its two abodes. Lowe considered that the charac-
ters of Aechmorhynchus were primitive and rather ralline in nature, and
suggested that it was from an older group than most of the rest of the
waders. This view has not been generally accepted.

The islands and their ornithological history

Christmas Island is a low coral lagoon, discovered by Captain Cook on
Wednesday 24 December 1777. He remained there till 2 January 1778,
naming the island for the season (Findlay 1886). The island is 35 miles
long, and 14 miles wide at its greatest width. The lagoon 1s very shallow,
and has now largely silted up, leaving a large tidal basin at the western
(leeward) side, an area of islets in the middle, and a large flat area with
many small lakes in the east. The island is very low (formerly no more
than 10 feet above sea level) but there are now a number of sand dunes
up to 40 feet high. The water table is often very near the surface, which
makes travel hazardous, and causes flooding in wet weather. The soil is
calcareous sand, often covered with mud, or a hard pan or crust of coral
mud. The island is only 2 degrees north of the equator, and there is little
seasonal change in climate (Gallagher 1960). When discovered, the land
was covered with stunted bushes, and a few palm trees. Cook planted
yams and melons. He also dug without success for water, but subsequent
visitors found that very inferior water could be obtained (Findlay 1886).

There is apparently archaeological evidence that the island was visited
in early times, but there is no indigenous human population (Gallagher
1960), and the island was certainly not inhabited at the time of Cook’s
visit. There is difficulty in interpreting the changes to the fauna that may
have occurred since then. Remarkably little has been written about the
island, particularly in the early years, and there is no further account until
that of Bennett (1840). Cook commented on the birds as follows:

Under the low trees above-mentioned, sat infinite numbers of a new
species of tern, or egg-bird. These are black above, and white below,
and with a white arch in the forehead [Sooty Terns]; and are rather
larger than the common noddy ... There were also a good many
common boobies, a sort that are almost like a gannet [Blue-faced
Booby]; and a sooty or chocolate coloured one, with a white belly
[Brown Booby]. To this list we must add men-of-war birds; tropic
birds; curlews; sandpipers; a small land-bird like a hedge sparrow [the
endemic warbler]; land crabs; small lizards; and rats.

F. D. Bennett visited the island in the whaling ship Tuscan in May
1835, and gave an account of the island in his travels (1840). Unfortu-
nately King (1955) appears to have totally garbled Bennett’s account,
claiming that the latter saw sooty terns, pure snow white petrels, frigate

M. Walters 100 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

birds and petrels, among others. Bennett’s account mentions none of
these. Furthermore the “‘quail”’ listed briefly by Bennett is interpreted by
King as referring to wintering Golden Plover, but this seems unlikely, as
Bennett specifically states that it is aland bird. It may therefore have been
a small rail, totally unknown to science. King’s account is repeated by
Gallagher (1960). Much more to the point, Bennett makes no mention of
any endemic sandpiper, which had probably disappeared by that time,
possibly a victim of the rats which were already present in Cook’s time.
This, however, cannot be proved. It is not clear what species of rats are
here involved. Gallagher saw at least two species (but did not trap any), a
small grey one which he thought was probably the Polynesian Rat Rattus
exulans, and another large rufous one which he did not identify, but which
may have been the Brown Rat Rattus norvegicus. (Mrs. Elizabeth
Schreiber, pers. comm., advises me that this larger species of rat is no
longer to be found on the island.) It is most likely that the rat present when
Cook arrived was exulans, introduced by the Polynesians, which seems to
do relatively little damage to bird populations. There is as yet no known
instance of the extinction of any bird species as a result of predation by
R. exulans. Atkinson (1985) indicates that there is no evidence for the
existence of any rat other than R. exulans on any island in the central
Pacific prior to 1850; after that date all three species (R. exulans, R. rattus
and R. norvegicus) were widely, but irregularly, distributed. Atkinson
does not specifically mention Christmas Island, and no information
seems to be available on dates of rat introduction.

King’s assessment of Bennett’s account is so poor that he lists “other
terns’ and suggests that these are ‘“‘probably noddies’’. Not only are these
terns quite clearly the Blue-grey Noddy Procelsterna cerulea but King has
overlooked the fact that Bennett gave a detailed description of them and
actually named this species for the first time, type locality Christmas
Island! As Bennett’s account is of some importance in establishing his
accuracy, it is here discussed. Bennett’s ship reached Christmas Island
on the afternoon of 6 May 1835. He describes a booby, clearly Sula
dactylatra; the Red-tailed Tropic bird Phaethon phoenicurus (now P.
rubricauda); the ‘“‘snowy tern” is obviously Gygis alba for he describes it
laying eggs on bare branches; and the Blue-grey Noddy. He also found
‘““curlews’? numerous on the coast. He is absolutely accurate in all the
birds which he describes. However, the fact that he omits any mention of
several species which must have been present, means that we cannot be
certain that the sandpiper had died out by that time.

The next recorded visit seems to have been that of the lumber barque
J.C. Fremont which was wrecked in the large bay on the east of the island
in November 1857. In 1858, Captain Hooper examined it, reporting that
a number of wrecks had occurred in that dangerous bay. He noted that the
lagoon was extremely salty and that all the fish in it appeared to be dead,
but remarkably preserved, and quite edible, the excessive salt appearing
to act as a preservative (Hooper, in Findlay 1886).

The first ornithological visit to Christmas Island which systematically
collected and reported on the birds was by Streets (1877), who visited it in
a January during the course of the 1873—5 United States North Pacific
Surveying expedition. He listed 9 species:

M. Walters 101 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

Numenius femoralis, i.e. tahitiensis. A few seen but not collected.

Sula piscator, 1.e. S. sula. Sitting on eggs in January.

Sula cyanops, 1.¢. dactylatra. Breeding, one immature collected.
Fregata minor. Not breeding and not very common.

Phaethon rubricauda. Breeding. 2 specimens collected, one an immature.
Anous stolidus. Breeding.

Puffinus nativitatis. One specimen, captured on its nest.

Pterodroma parvirostris. Breeding. 2 specimens collected.

The list is interesting not only for what it includes, but for what it omits.
There is, for instance, no mention of the endemic warbler.

Gallagher (1960) lists a total of 32 species recorded from the island. It is
clear that the failure to mention a particular species in one of the early
accounts cannot be taken as incontrovertible evidence that that species
was not in fact present.

A. parvirostris is widely distributed in the Tuamotu Archipelago, and is
not confined to Honden and Raraka, as was stated by earlier writers. It
occurs in every type of habitat the islands afford, commonly on stretches
of bare ground, and less commonly in dense pandanus thickets. Islands on
which the sandpiper has been recorded include the Mangareva group, the
Actaeon group southwest of Mangareva, and the central Raeffsky group
(Greenway 1958). Holyoak (1973) points out that A. parvirostris occurs
only on islands free of men, cats and rats. The Mangareva or Gambier
Islands consist of an encircling coral reef enclosing five large and several
smaller islands. All the islands of the group are steep and rugged, and
volcanic in origin. They are fertile and have fresh water. The Amphitrite
or Actaeon Islands are low wooded islands, apparently with fringing
reefs, and when discovered in 1833, were uninhabited. The Raeffsky
Islands are three small islands, very close together and almost connected.
Honden or Dog Island when discovered in 1616 was clothed with veg-
etation and almost covered with water at high tide. It appears to have been
uplifted since that date. It is now a coral lagoon which only communicates
with the sea at very high tides. Raraka is a thickly wooded coral lagoon.
Fakarava is a large coral lagoon, well vegetated and inhabited, the popu-
lation in the late nineteenth century being about 190. Katieu is a low coral
atoll with a lagoon. Kawahi is a low coral lagoon covered with coconut
palms and bushes (Findlay 1884). Thus the sandpiper occurs both on
coral atolls, similar to Christmas Island, and on high volcanic islands.

Conclusions

The available evidence does not prove conclusively the existence of a
population of Aechmorhynchus sandpipers on Christmas Island taxon-
omically distinct from that on the Tuamotus. Conversely, it does not
prove that such a population could not have existed. The quality of Ellis’s
painting, the type of A. cancellatus, suggests, but does not prove, that the
Christmas Island specimen was different from that of the Tuamotu popu-
lation (parvirostris). However, in my view the evidence is sufficient to say
that parvirostris cannot unequivocally be identified with cancellatus, and
that therefore the latter name should not (as has recently been done)

M. Walters 102 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

be used for the Tuamotu population, which should revert to the name
parvirostris. Aechmorhynchus cancellatus must remain a name of doubtful
application, possibly but not certainly referring to an extinct species,
formerly endemic to Christmas Island.

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to Storrs Olson and Elizabeth Schreiber for kindly reading the manuscript and
making helpful comments.

References:

Atkinson, I. A. E. 1985. The spread of commensal species of Rattus to Oceanic islands and
their effects on island avifaunas, 7m P. J. Moores (ed.), Conservation of Island Birds.
I.C.B.P. Technical Publication, no. 3.

Bennett, F. D. 1840. Narrative of a Whaling Voyage round the Globe, etc., 2 vols. Richard
Bentley, London.

Cassin, J. 1858. United States Exploring Expedition 1838—42, Mammalia and Ornithology,
2nd edn., pp. 321-2, pl. 38, fig. 2.

Findlay, A. G. 1884. A Directory for the Navigation of the South Pacific Ocean, with Descrip-
tions of its Coasts, Islands, etc., from the Strait of Magalhaens to Panama, and those of
New Zealand, Australia, etc., its Winds, Currents and Passages, 3rd edn. Richard
Holmes Laurie, London.

Findlay, A. G. 1886. A Directory for the Navigation of the North Pacific Ocean, with descrip-
tions of its Coasts, Islands, etc., from Panama to Behring Strait, and fapan; its Winds,
Currents and Passages, 3rd edn. Richard Holmes Laurie, London.

Gallagher, M. J. 1960. Bird notes from Christmas Island, Pacific Ocean. Jbzs 102: 489-502.

Gmelin, J. F. 1789. Systema Naturae. Vol. 1, pt. 2.

Greenway, J. C. 1958. Extinct and Vanishing Birds of the World. Special Publication no. 13.
American Committee for International Wild Life Protection, New York.

Holyoak, D.'T. 1973. On the birds of Rangiroa, Tuamotu Archipelago, and the surrounding
ocean. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 93: 26-32.

King, J. E. 1955. Annotated list of birds observed on Christmas Island, October to
December, 1953. Pacific Science 9: 42—48.

Latham, J. 1785. General Synopsis of Birds. Vol. 3, pt. 1. Leigh and Sotheby, London.

Lowe, P. R. 1927. Anatomy and systematic position of Aechmorhynchus cancellatus (Gm.),
etc. [bis (12) 3: 114-132.

Lysaght, A. 1959. Some eighteenth century bird paintings in the library of Sir Joseph
Banks. Bull. Brit. Mus. (Nat. Hist)., Hist. Ser. 1: 332-333.

Peale, T. R. 1848. United States Exploring Expedition 1838—42, Mammalia and Ornithology,
1st edn. [copy of this very rare work in Rothschild Library with correspondence bound

in].

Seebohm, H. 1888. Geographical Distribution of the Charadriidae. Henry Sotheran & Co.,
London and Manchester.

Streets, T. H. 1877. Contributions to the natural history of the Hawaiian and Fanning
Islands, and Lower California. Bull. U.S. Natl Mus. 7: 9-33.

Stresemann, E. 1950. Birds collected during Captain James Cook’s last expedition
(1776-1780). Auk 67: 66-68.

Townsend, C. W. & Wetmore, A. 1919. Reports on the scientific results of the expedition to
the tropical Pacific in charge of Alexander Agassiz on the U.S. Fish Commission
steamer Albatross. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 63: 182-183.

Zusi, R. L. & Jehl, J. R. 1970. The systematic relationships of Aechmorhynchus, Prosobonia,
and Phegornis (Charadriiformes: Charadrii). Auk 87: 760—780.

Address: Bird Group, The Natural History Museum, Tring, Herts HP23 6AP, U.K.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

C. Rahbek et al. 103 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)
Avian body weights from southern Ecuador

by Carsten Rahbek, Hanne Bloch, Michael Koie Poulsen &
Jan Fischer Rasmussen

Received 8 Fune 1992

This paper presents body weight data for 676 individuals of 169 species.
It should be seen as a continuation of King’s (1991) presentation of
weights of 88 south Ecuadorean species, which to our knowledge is the
only previous paper on the subject covering this region. Prior to 1989 the
southernmost part of Ecuador was poorly surveyed (Bloch et al. 1991),
and avian distribution patterns are rather complex, as two centres of
endemism (the North Andean and Tumbesian) overlap in the region
(Best & Clarke 1991, Bloch et al. 1991). In spite of several expeditions to
the area in the last couple of years, the area is one of the biogeographically
least understood parts of the Andes.

Data and study sites

Data were collected during 6 months (January to July) of fieldwork in
1989 and 3 months (October to January) in 1991-1992. The data from
1989 were collected solely from living mist-netted birds, while some of
the data from the second period are from collected specimens. Details of
the mist-netting programme in 1989 are given in Bloch et al. (1991). Mist-
netting was carried out more or less evenly from dawn to dusk. The data
have been collected from 14 different localities in the provinces of Loja
and Zamora-Chinchipe of southern Ecuador. Localities surveyed
(arranged in order of increasing elevation) are as follows:

Upper tropical zone: (1) Rio Bombuscara (04°08’S, 78°58’W), 1000-1300 m. Premontane
humid forest. Huge forested area along the Bombuscara River in the Podocarpus National
Park connected with the rest of the only remaining cohesive forested area in the Andes
region of southern Ecuador. Most of the area is good primary forest with lush undergrowth
and tall trees. Some smaller clearings and patches of second growth.

Subtropical zone: (2) New Sabanilla-Zamora road (04°00'S, 79°02’W), 1500-1700 m.
Humid montane forest. A patch of primary forest, which is still connected to the forested
areas of Podocarpus National Park. A new road is under construction in this area, and the
forest is being cut to make way for it, but the area still contains patches of undisturbed forest
with dense understory and a moderate cover of epiphytes. (3) Nueva Fatima (04°16'S,
79°49'W), 1750 m. Semi-deciduous montane forest. A very small forest patch (0.2 km’) of
secondary forest, consisting of tall second-growth, dense scrub and a few larger trees. (4)
Quebrada Avioneta (04°17'S, 78°56’W), 1900-1950 m. Very wet montane forest. Huge
forested area within the forested zone of Podocarpus National Park. Tall primary forest,
with an extremely dense cover of epiphytes and some undergrowth; i.e., some scattered
cleared areas. (5) East of San Pedro (04°13’S, 79°11’W), 2300 m. Semi-wet montane forest-
scrub. A scrubby secondary forest with some understory in a landscape heavily disturbed
by settlers. Corridors exist to better forest at higher elevation. (6) Celica I (03°57'S,
79°48'W), 2350-2400 m. Semi-humid montane forest. Rather disturbed primary forest
patch strongly influenced by human activity. Less disturbed in upper parts and particularly
in ravines, the intervening ridges with much shorter vegetation, in lower parts mainly with
pry growth and with large cleared and burned areas. Undergrowth partly disturbed

y cattle.

Temperate zone: (7) Quebrada Honda (04°30'S, 79°07'W), 2400-2500 m. Humid montane
forest. Fragmented and disturbed primary forest, with moderate epiphyte cover and under-
growth. Connected to the huge forested area of Podocarpus National Park. (8) Jatumpamba

C. Rahbek et al. 104 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

(04°19'S, 79°52’W), 2500-2600 m. Semi-deciduous montane forest. A small forest patch of
mainly secondary forest without any large trees. Understory vegetation very sparse due to
grazing by cattle. (9) The farm of David Espinosa (03°58’S, 79°09'W), 2600 m. Humid
montane forest. A neighbouring area to Podocarpus National Park with mixed grassland
and forest. The forest has a dense undergrowth and moderate cover of epiphytes. The forest
edges and the scattered thickets consist solely of secondary growth. (10) Celica IT (04°01'S,
79°52’W), 2750 m. Semi-humid montane forest. A small and isolated but rich primary forest
patch, with a dense undergrowth. Trees with abundant epiphytes. (11) Selva Alegre
(03°32'S, 79°22'W), 2850 m. Wet montane forest. Fragmented primary forest with remark-
ably tall trees. In the lower parts alternating with pastures, burned areas and thickets with
secondary growth. Trees in primary parts with many flowering epiphytes and also thick
velvet-like cushions of moss. Undergrowth partly disturbed by cattle grazing inside the
forest. Scattered openings due to selective logging. (12) Ona Capa (03°34’'S, 79°08’W),
3000 m. Humid montane forest. A few hectares of disturbed primary forest. Moderate cover
of epiphytes and many open spaces due to selective felling. Fringes of the forest mixed with
thickets of secondary growth. (13) Acanama (03°42'S, 79°13’W), 3000 m. Very wet montane
forest. Two patches separated by a ravine with cleared and grazed slopes. Patch 1: mainly
secondary growth including a dense undergrowth of Chusquea on a small hill; i.e., central
parts with tall primary, epiphyte-covered trees. Patch 2: a primary dense forest on a steep
slope with reduced undergrowth, instead a mass of tangled, mossy roots in the lowest
stratum; the fringe of the forest with dense thickets of Chusquea. (14) Cajanuma (04°06’S,
79°09’W, 2700-3200 m. Humid montane forest. Huge forested area in a valley connected to
the rest of the only remaining cohesive forested area in the Andes region of southern
Ecuador, Podocarpus National Park. In the lowest part (2700-2750 m) mainly secondary
growth mixed with some primary forest. From 2750m primary humid cloud-forest with
some large areas with dense undergrowth of Chusquea. Conspicuous cover of moss and great
abundance of mistletoes and epiphytes. The vegetation grades into a gnarled moss-covered
elfin forest at 3000 m.

The weights

All birds were weighed with a Pesola spring balance to the nearest 0.5 g.
For any category where at least five weights are available, the mean,
standard deviation and range are given. For categories with fewer than
five, individual weights are given. Localities where the weights were
obtained are indicated by the locality number(s) after the name.

These weights include species that have small geographic ranges (e.g.
Coeligena iris, Thamnophilus zarumae, Ochthoeca jelsku, Basileuterus
fraseri, Basileuterus trifasciatus, Atlapetes leucopterus) and/or are rare and
poorly known (e.g. Pyrrhura albipectus, Galbula pastazae, Grallaricula
peruviana, Myiophobus lintoni, Notiochelidon flavipes, Turdus fulviventris).

The taxonomy of South American birds is at present under extensive
revision. Some forms are being elevated from subspecies to species rank,
or demoted from species to subspecies rank. Nevertheless, we follow the
nomenclature and order of Meyer de Schauensee (1970), even though
somewhat outdated, as it still remains the only comprehensive modern
treatment of the birds of South America. However, following Traylor
(1985) and the recommendation of R. S. Ridgely and P. G. Greenfield (an
litt.) we have treated the following taxa as distinct species: Thamnophilus
garumae is regarded as distinct from T. doliatus; Myrmotherula
spodionota is regarded as distinct from the lowland species M.
haematonota ; Ochthoeca jelskii is separated as a species from O. pulchella
of Peru and Bolivia; Vireo leucophrys of southern Middle and South
America is regarded as a species separate from the northern V. gilvus;
Basileuterus fulvicauda is regarded as distinct from B. rivularis; and
Diglossa humerallis is regarded as distinct from D. carbonaria.

C. Rahbek et al. 105 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

Pyrrhura albipectus (2): 3 110; 2 98

Threnetes leucurus (1): unsexed 6, 6.5

Phaethornis guy (1): unsexed 5, 5.5, 5.5

Phaethornis syrmatophorus (4): § 5.5; unsexed 6

Phaethornis griseogularis (1): unsexed 2.5

Eutoxeres aquila (1): unsexed 9.5, 11

Colibri thalassinus (6, 10): 6 unsexed 4.6 +0.9 (4-5.5)

Amazilia amazilia (3): unsexed 4

Adelomyia melanogenys (4, 6, 10): $ 4.5; 9 unsexed 3.9+0.2 (3.5—-4)

Heliodoxa rubinoides (4): 2.7.5

Lafresnaya lafresnayi (7, 9, 11, 13, 14): $5; 8 299 4.7+0.5 (4-5.5); unsexed 5.5, 6.5

Coeligena coeligena (4): unsexed 8

Coeligena torquata (7, 14): $3 8.5, 9;27.5
(

Coeligena lutetiae (13, 14):6 597. TL! 8 (7-9); 27.5

Coeligena iris (6, 10, 11, 13):7 dd 6. ie 6 (6-7.5); 29 6.5; 17 unsexed 6.8 40.5 (6-8)
Heliangelus amethysticollis (4): $3 5, 5.5

Heliangelus exortis (7, 13, 14): 9 oe .6+0.7 (3-5); 99 5, 5; unsexed 4.5, 5,5, 5.5
Heliangelus viola (6, 9, 10, 11): go 5, 6.5; J'5.5; unsexed 5,.5.5,5.5

Eriocnemis vestitus (11, 13) HOPS: mneere ed 5.5

Lesbia nuna (5, 6, 9, 10): 29 3, 33 5,4,4
Metallura tyrianthina (QPTe 3. 14): 7 33 3.840.4 (3.5-4.5); 8 99 3.6+0.4 (3-4); unsexed
4,4

Chalcostigma herrant (14):25

Aglaiocercus kingi (4): 2° 4

Trogon personatus (12): 2 57

Galbula pastazae (1): 3 32.5; 2 31

Aulacorhynchus derbianus (2): unsexed 200

Veniliornis fumigatus (10): unsexed 42.5

Dendrocincla tyrannina (7): 3 56

Sittasomus griseicapillus (1): unsexed 18

Glyphorynchus spirurus (1): unsexed 13

Xiphorhynchus triangularis (4): unsexed 46.5

Lepidocolaptes affinis (11): unsexed 33

Synallaxis azarae (5, 9,13, 14): JJ 15, 15.5; 7 unsexed 15.4+1.0 (14-17)
Synallaxis unirufa (7, 14): unsexed 18, 21.5

Synallaxis gularis (13, 14): JJ 11, 12, 12.5; 11 unsexed 12.8 + 0.7 (12-14)
Cranioleuca antisiensis (5, 6, 8, 10): 12 unsexed 15.4+1.8 (13-18)
Margarornis squamiger (11, 13, 14): 6 unsexed 17.7 + 0.9 (16-18.5)
Premnoplex brunnescens (4): 3 15; 11 unsexed 16.4+1.1 (14.5-18)
Pseudocolaptes boissonneautii (11, 13, 14): 5 unsexed 49.6 +2.3 (46.5—52)
Thripadectes melanorhynchus (1): unsexed 38, 46

Thamnophilus zarumae (5): 3 23.5

Thamanistes anabatinus (1): unsexed 19.5

Dysithamnus mentalis (1): 2 15

Myrmotherula spodionota (1): 3 10

Cercomacra nigrescens (2): 3 16, 18.5; 217; J 15.5

Pyriglena leuconota (1, 4): 33 31, 33.5

Hylophylax poecilonota (1): 3 18

Grallaria rufula (14): unsexed 39

Grallaricula nana (7:) 3 21

Grallaricula peruviana (4): 2 18

Conopophaga castaneiceps (1): 9 25.5

Myornis senilis (13, 14): unsexed 19.5, 21.5, 23

Scytalopus femoralis (4): 3 25

Scytalopus latebricola (9): unsexed 18

Ampelion rubrocristatus (10): unsexed 59

Pipreola riefferii (4, 7): $3 49.5, 53; 29 43, 48.5

Pipreola arcuata (7): 3 119

Pachyramphus versicolor (2, 4): 3 13.5, 15

Pipra isidorei (1): 3 7; 29 8.5, 9

Masius chrysopterus (2, 4): 33 10.5, 10.5; 213

Myiotheretes fumigatus (14): unsexed 32

C. Rahbek et al. 106 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

Ochthoeca fumicolor (13, 14): 5 unsexed 17.1 +0.7 (16-18)
Ochthoeca rufipectoralts (7, 14): 6 unsexed 11 +0.8 (9.5—11.5)
Ochthoeca cinnamomeiventris (4): unsexed 11,13. .
Ochthoeca frontalis (14): unsexed 10.5, 11

Ochthoeca jelskiz (10): unsexed 9.5, 10, 11

Ochthoeca diadema (7, 13, 14): 5 unsexed 10.7 + 1.4 (9.5-13)
Sayornis nigricans (2): unsexed 20

Myiodynastes chrysocephalus (2): JJ 42, 42.5

Myiarchus tuberculifer (7): unsexed 20.5

Myiotriccus ornatus (1): unsexed 12.5, 12.5, 12.5
Pyrrhomyias cinnamomea (7, 11, 13): unsexed 9, 10, 10
Myiophobus phoenicomitra (1, 4): dg 12.5, 12.5; 9 11.5
Myiophobus cryptoxanthus (2): 2 8.5

Myiophobus lintoni (7): J 10

Hirundinea ferruginea (2): unsexed 31, 32, 40

Platyrinchus mystaceus (1): unsexed 7.5, 12

Tolmomytas assimilis (1): unsexed 16

Idioptilon granadense (13): unsexed 8, 8

Pseudotriccus pelzelni (4): 3 11; unsexed 11

Pseudotriccus rificeps (14): unsexed 11

Anairetes parulus (13): unsexed 6, 6, 6.5

Serpophaga cinerea (4): unsexed 8

Mecocerculus poecilocercus (6, 10): unsexed 7, 7.5, 7.5
Mecocerculus calopterus (3): unsexed 7, 7

Mecocerculus stictopterus (10, 11, 14): unsexed 9, 9, 10.5
Elaenia pallatangae (9, 10): 5 unsexed 15.1+1.5 (13.5—17.5)
Tyranniscus uropygialis (8): unsexed 7

Leptopogon superciliaris (1, 2): ¢ 13.5; unsexed 11.5, 13.5
Leptopogon rufipectus (4): unsexed 12.5, 15

Moonectes striaticollis (1, 4): unsexed 13, 15, 15.5

Mhionectes olivaceus (1): 5 unsexed 13.6+1.4 (12.5-15.5)
Notiochelidon flavipes (7): 29

Cinnycerthia unirufa (7, 13, 14): 3 30; J 24.5; 12 unsexed 28.2 + 2.6 (25—32.5)
Cinnycerthia peruana (4): 7 unsexed 25.7 + 2.2 (22-28)
Cistothorus platensis (13): unsexed 12.5

Thyrothorus euophrys (7, 14): 9 31; unsexed 31.5
Troglodytes solstitialis (11, 14): 5 unsexed 10.7 +1.1 (9-12)
Henicorhina leucosticta (1): unsexed 15

Henicorhina leucophrys (1, 4, 10): 9 unsexed 14.9+0.8 (13.5—16)
Myadestes ralloides (1, 4): unsexed 27, 28, 28.5, 30

Catharus fuscater (4, 10): 5 unsexed 34.6+1.1 (33.5—36)
Catharus ustulatus (1, 2): 8 unsexed 28.4 + 2.3 (25.5—33)
Turdus fulviventris (4): $3 70, 71; 2 69

Vireo leucophrys (6): unsexed 12.5, 13

Aylophilus olivaceus (1): unsexed 12, 12, 13

Cacicus holosericeus (14): unsexed 64

Parula pitiayumi (1): unsexed 7.5, 8

Dendroica fusca (2, 9): 3 10; 28.5

Wilsonia canadensis (1): unsexed 9.5

Myroborus miniatus (1, 4, 5, 6): 6 unsexed 9.8 + 0.9 (9-11.5)

Myioborus melanocephalus (7, 13, 14): JJ 12.5, 13.5; 5 unsexed 12.0+1.2 (11-14)
Basileuterus nigrocristatus (6, 7,9, 10, 12, 13, 14): 15 unsexed 11.9+1.3 (9.5-14)

Basileuterus luteoviridis (13, 14): 5 unsexed 16.1 + 2.4 (13-19.5)
Basileuterus tristriatus (4): 6 unsexed 12.9+1.2 (11—14.5)

Basileuterus trifasciatus (3, 6, 10): 9 unsexed 9.7 + 0.8 (8.5—-11); J 9
Basileuterus coronatus (4, 7, 11, 13, 14): 11 unsexed 15.5 +2.5 (12—20.5)
Basileuterus fraseri (3): unsexed 14

Basileuterus fulvicauda (1): unsexed 13, 13.5, 16

Coereba flaveola (1): unsexed 10, 10

Conirostrum sitticolor (13): unsexed 12, 12.5

Diglossa lafresnayii (13, 14): 6 unsexed 15.7 +1.5 (14-18.5)

Diglossa humeralis (9, 13): 3 13; J 11; unsexed 14

C. Rahbek et al. 107 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

Diglossa albilatera (5,6, 7,9, 10, 13, 14): 11 $g 10.3 +1.1 (9.5-12.5); 5 99.9.3 40.4 (8.5—9.5);
JJ 10.5, 11; unsexed 10, 10.5

Diglossa glauca (4): 9 11; unsexed 10.5, 12

Diglossa cyanea (4, 7, 11, 13, 14): 18 unsexed 18.1+1.7 (16—23.5)

Tridophanes pulcherrima (2): 3 17

Euphonia xanthogaster (1, 2, 6, 10): SS 13, 13.5, 13.5, 15; 6 99 14.1+0.4 (13.5-14.5)

Chlorochrysa calliparaea (2, 4): 5 17.5; 219

Tangara chilensis (1): unsexed 22

Tangara punctata (1, 2): J 17; unsexed 16, 18

Tangara parzudakii (2): 235

Tangara cyanotis (2): 217

Tangara cyanicollis (1, 2): 3 18; unsexed 16.5

Tangara ruficervix (2): 3 18.5

Tangara nigroviridis (4): 5 18

Tangara vassorii (8, 9, 13, 14): 5 17; 2 20; J 13; 6 unsexed 17.8+1.1 (16.5-19.5)

Tridosornis analis (4): 3 24; unsexed 28

Tridosornis rufivertex (7, 13): 5 unsexed 23.0 +1.7 (21-25)

Anisognathus igniventris (7, 13): J 33.5; 5 unsexed 35.4+3.1 (31.540)

Anisognathus lacrymosus (7, 9, 13, 14): 18 unsexed 33.7 +2.5 (30-38)

Dubusia taeniata (13): unsexed 38, 39

Ramphocelus carbo (2): 3 30; J 27.5

Calochaetes coccineus (2): 2° 48

Piranga leucoptera (2): 3 21

Piranga rubriceps (7): 3 42

Tachyphonus rufus (2): 2 36.5

Thylpopsis ornata (5, 7): unsexed 11.5, 12

Chlorospingus ophthalmicus (4): 2 18; JJ 17.5, 20.5; 7 unsexed 22.1 +2.2 (19-25)

Chlorospingus flavigularis (1): 10 unsexed 26.4+1.8 (23.5—28.5)

Chlorospingus parvirostris (1, 2, 4): 5 23; 9 20; unsexed 22, 25.5

Chlorospingus canigularis (4): § 17; unsexed 16.5

Cnemoscopus rubrirostris (7, 13): unsexed 22.5, 24, 24.5

Hemispingus atropileus (7, 13, 14): 8 unsexed 23.6 +2.6 (17.5—26)

Hemispingus verticalis (14): unsexed 14.5, 15

Catamblyrhynchus diadema (6, 10, 13, 14): J 15; 6 unsexed 19.3 + 2.9 (15—23.5)

Saltator maximus (1): unsexed 42.5

Pitylus grossus (1): 3 43.5; 237

Oryzoborus angolensis (1): 5 14; 5 92 13.2 +1.0 (12-14.5)

Catamenia homochroa (9): 3 12.5

Atlapetes pallidinucha (9, 14): 7 unsexed 34.2 + 6.0 (29-46.5)

Atlapetes rufinucha (5, 6, 7,9, 10, 12, 13): JJ 25.5, 30; 17 unsexed 29.5 +3.8 (23-37)

Atlapetes leucopterus (3): unsexed 24, 24, 25.5

Atlapetes brunneinucha (2): 2 46

Atlapetes torquatus (5, 9, 10, 13): 6 unsexed 42.1 +5.9 (33-50)

Arremon aurantiirostris (1): unsexed 26.5, 28

Myospiza aurifrons (1, 4): unsexed 18, 19

Zonotrichia capensis (2,5, 9, 11): J 22.5; unsexed 20.5, 21.5, 24, 26.5

Spinus magellanicus (2): 33 11, 11

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Aage V. Jensens Charity Foundation, whose financial
support made the fieldwork possible; the Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganaderia in both
Quito and Loja for permission to work in the province of Loja and Podocarpus National
Park; Nancy Hilgert de Benavides of Fundacion Ornitologica del Ecuador (CECIA) and
David Espinosa of Universidad Nacional de Loja for their help, good cooperation and
friendship; Frederik Brammer, Rodrigo San-Martin, Pablo Mora, Francisco Sornoza and
Rodrigo Tapia for their good company and participation in the fieldwork; Jon Fjeldsa, Niels
Krabbe and Robert S. Ridgely for many inspiring discussions, exchange of information and
some good days in the field together.

References:
Best, B. J. & Clarke, C. T. (eds) 1991. The threatened birds of the Sozoranga region, Southwest
Ecuador. \CBP study report No. 44, ICBP, Cambridge.

B. F. Best et al. 108 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

Bloch, H., Poulsen, M. K., Rahbek, C. & Rasmussen, J. F. 1991. A survey of the montane
forest avifauna of the Loja Province, Southern Ecuador. (CBP study report No. 49,
ICBP, Cambridge. |

King, J. R. 1991. Body weights of some Ecuadorean birds. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 111: 46—49.

Meyer de Schauensee, R. 1970. A Guide to the Birds of South America. Livingstone
Publishing Co.

Traylor, M. A., Jr. 1985. Species limits in the Ochthoeca diadema species-group
(Tyrannidae). Pp. 430—442 in P. A. Buckley, M.S. Foster, E.S. Morton, R.S. Ridgely
& F. G. Buckley (eds), Neotropical Ornithology. Orn. Monogr. no. 36.

Address : Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100
Copenhagen ©, Denmark.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

Distributional records, natural history notes,

and conservation of some poorly known birds

from southwestern Ecuador and northwestern
Peru

By Brinley Ff. Best, Christopher T. Clarke, Matthew Checker,
Amanda L. Broom, Richard M. Thewlis, Will Duckworth &
Angus McNab

Received 30 April 1992

‘The Andean foothills and adjacent coastal plain of southwestern Ecuador
and northwestern Peru form an ecological transition zone between the very
humid Colombian and Ecuadorean Pacific rainforests to the north, and
the xeric coastal area of Peru to the south. This topographically complex
area supports a very broad spectrum of habitats, ranging from dry, desert-
like scrub to very humid cloud forests. This range of vegetation types
is influenced by a strongly seasonal climate: the period from May to
November is usually very dry, but a pronounced wet season occurs from
December to April in most years (Brown 1941, Munday & Munday 1992).

Early bird collectors achieved relatively complete geographic coverage
and a thorough synthesis of the avifauna was possible by the late 1920s
(Chapman 1926). Chapman named the characteristic bird species of the
region the Equatorial Arid Fauna. In contrast to early ornithological
effort, there were very few surveys between 1930 and 1970 (e.g. Marchant

1958, Koepcke 1961, D. Norton and R. A. Paynter in 1964-1965); only in ©
the late 1970s and 1980s did zoologists begin to reinvestigate the area ~
(Schulenberg & Parker 1981, Parker et al. 1985, Wiedenfeld et al. 1985, |

Parker et al. 1989, Robbins & Ridgely 1990). Up to 1990 the region was
still poorly represented in the ornithological literature, and one of its
endemic species (the E] Oro Parakeet Pyrrhura orcesi) was only formally
described in 1988 (Ridgely & Robbins 1988). In the last five years,

however, survey work has intensified and several survey reports have

B. ¥. Best et al. 109 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

appeared (Best & Clarke 1991, Bloch et al. 1991, Krabbe 1991, Williams
& Tobias 1991, Best 1992, Parker & Carr 1992; also unpublished species
lists from ANSP and WF VZ surveys). Despite this recent interest in the
region, journal papers concerning its avifauna still remain very sparse.

Muller (1973) and Cracraft (1985) discussed the complex biogeographical
situation of western Ecuador and adjacent northwestern Peru. Cracraft
(1985) noted that several species are restricted to the region, and he
named the area to which they are confined the Tumbesian endemic centre
after the Department of Tumbes in Peru which forms its spatial centre.
The most recent analysis of the endemic avifauna of the TTumbesian
region (ICBP 1992) lists 44 endemic species entirely confined to it, the
second highest of all 221 Endemic Bird Areas (EBAs) identified by ICBP
worldwide. The Tumbesian region overlaps with a number of other
EBAs: its eastern fringe borders the South Ecuador/North Peru Cloud
Forests EBA (Best & Clarke 1991); whereas to the northeast there is
overlap with species from the Choco/ Pacific slope Andes EBA, with some
species characteristic of that region also occurring at more humid sites
within the Tumbesian area (see discussion).

Recent investigations revealed that the forests of the Tumbesian region
have been degraded to a patchwork of agricultural land punctuated by
occasional forest remnants. The endemic forest avifauna has thus become
isolated in small, scattered fragments which are themselves under threat.
At least 15 globally threatened bird species are confined to these forest
fragments (Collar et al. 1992). When plans for fieldwork were being formu-
lated in 1988 the majority of ornithological data from the region came
from prior to 1930. Satellite images from 1986 illustrated that extensive
deforestation had ravaged the area since that time. However, of the forest
fragments that had survived up to 1988, several had never been surveyed.
We were eager to document the avifauna of these areas before they also
disappeared. Furthermore, the habitat requirements of the threatened
species were poorly known. The only data on the birds’ breeding seasons
came from the Santa Elena Peninsula in western Ecuador, where breeding
coincided with the annual rains (Marchant 1958); the timing of the breeding
season in extreme southwestern Ecuador had yet to be established. A combi-
nation of these factors encouraged us to mount two expeditions: the first in
August and September 1989 (the dry season); the second from January to
March 1991 (the wet season). The purpose of this paper is to present our
most noteworthy ornithological data from both surveys. Further details of
the surveys can be found in Best & Clarke (1991) and Best (1992).

From 8 August to 30 September 1989 B. J. Best, C. T. Clarke, M.
Checker, A. McNab, M. Chango and R. Tapia surveyed three sites in
Loja Province, Ecuador, for which no previous ornithological data
existed (apart from a two-day survey of one site in June 1989 (Bloch et al.
1991)) (Fig. 1); C.T.C. and M.C. also visited one site in Piura Depart-

ment, northern Peru. From 6 January to 13 March 1991 B.J.B., A. L.
Broom, M.C.,R.M.Thewlis, J. W. Duckworth and J. Cuevasurveyed an
additional 11 Ecuadorean sites, 7 in Loja Province, 2 in El] Oro and 2 in
Azuay (five of which were ornithologically unknown), and resurveyed the
| earlier three in Loja. Details of the sites surveyed appear in Appendix A;
| their geographical positions are shown in Figure 1.

80°W 79°W
3°S

Prov. Azuay

\_ Prov. El Oro

@%,
, ZAPOTILLO
¢@

0 50km

Figure 1. Sites surveyed by the authors in SW Ecuador (and *NW Peru) in 1989 and 1991:

1. Rio Rircay Valleyt, 3°17’S, 79°15’W.. 9. Celica, 4°07'S, 79°58’W.

2. Uzhcurrumif, 3°21'S, 79°33’W. 10. El Empalme, 4°07'S, 79°51’W.

3. Ona, 3°25’S, 79°07'W. 11. El Ceibo-Sabanillat, 4°15’S, 80°08’W.
4. Buenaventura, 3°40’S, 79°44°W. 12. Sozoranga, 4°21'S, 79°47'W.

5. Vicentinof, 3°57'S, 79°57’S. 13. Utuanaf, 4°22’S, 79°43’W.

6. Alamor, 4°00’S, 80°00’S. 14. Tambo Negrof, 04°24'S, 79°51’W.

7. Tierra Coloradat, 4°02'S, 79°57'W. 15. *Ayabacaf, 04°36'S, 79°44’W. ;

8. Catacochat, 4°03’S, 79°40’W.

fsites which were ornithologically unknown prior to our surveys.
Dark stippling denotes land above 2000 m, light stippling land over 1000 m.

B. F. Best et al. 111 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

A list of all bird species recorded, with relative abundance and breeding
data, appears as Appendix B. In the main part of this paper we report
noteworthy distributional records of 31 species, with natural history
notes and comments on the conservation of the 19 most poorly known.
One species, Black-crested Tit-Tyrant Anairetes nigrocristatus, and one
subspecies, Black-eared Hemispingus Hemispingus melanotis piurae, are
reported from Ecuador for the first time. Additional information is
included from M. Kessler, N. Krabbe and F. Lambert who spent time
in the field with the authors during the 1991 survey. This includes
sonagrams produced from tape-recordings made by F. Lambert.

Unless specifically indicated to the contrary, the species was searched
for, but not recorded, above or below the altitudinal limits given (survey
sites covered the range 320—2625 m). Abundance estimates used in the
species accounts should be interpreted as in Appendix B. The letter T
on the title line denotes species from the Tumbesian EBA; the letter A
members of the South Ecuador/ North Peru Cloud Forests EBA; and the
letter C Choco/Andean Pacific slope endemics (following the lists of
Crosby et al. in prep.). If applicable, the Red Data Book (Collar e¢ al.
1992) categories of rare, vulnerable, endangered or indeterminate (for
threatened species), or ‘near-threatened’, are indicated.

Tape-recordings mentioned in the text are deposited at the British
Library of Wildlife Sounds, London. Acronyms used in the species
accounts include: ANSP = Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia;
BMNH=British Museum of Natural History, Tring; FMNH = Field
Museum of Natural History, Chicago; LSUMZ=Louisiana State
University Museum of Zoology; MCZ=Museum of Comparative
Zoology, Harvard; MECN = Museo Ecuatoriano de Ciencias Naturales,
Quito; and WF VZ=Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, Los
Angeles. Bird nomenclature and sequence follow Ridgely & Greenfield
(in prep.); habitat classifications follow those of Kessler (in press).

PALE-BROWED TINAMOU Crypturellus transfasciatus 'T, near-threatened

Common at Tambo Negro, Loja Province, Ecuador, from August to
September 1989 and January to March 1991 throughout the altitudinal
range of that site (600-1000 m). At least 10 were found daily (during four
or more hours survey-time) on the floor of Ceiba trichistandra-dominated
Deciduous Forest, but were wary and often hurriedly ran into dense
understorey after detecting our presence. On 20 February 1991, several
were heard calling from more open Ceiba forest around the military
checkpoint, about 15km E of Arenillas, El Oro Province, Ecuador
(3°40’S, 80°07’'W). At Tambo Negro they called repeatedly with a loud,
resonant whooit (tape- recorded) in the early morning and from 17.30 hrs
until dark. The species is given near-threatened status in Collar et al.
(1992); our observations indicate that in open, disturbed deciduous forest
(where an understorey still persists), this species can be readily found
and is not in immediate danger. This is in agreement with other recent
observations (R. Ridgely).

FASCIATED TIGER-HERON Tigrisoma fasciatum near-threatened
One was seen perched on a log across a fast-flowing river at Tierra
Colorada, Loja Province, Ecuador, on 11 February 1991. This appears to

B. }. Best et al. 112 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

be a southward range extension in western Ecuador from Canar Province
about 200 km to the north. The species is scarce throughout its range (R.
Ridgely). ;

GREY-BACKED HAWK Leucopternis occidentalis T, endangered

Seen at six sites in 1991 in El Oro and Loja Provinces, Ecuador, from
the lowest study-site (320 m) to 1800 m. Sites (all with at least 2—3 birds)
were: Uzhcurrumi, Buenaventura, Alamor, Vicentino, Tierra Colorada
and Celica. This species was found in evergreen forest and over adjacent
agricultural land. Several putative pairs were seen; on 10 February
two birds took part in a spectacular aerial display at Tierra Colorada,
involving one bird rising to several hundred metres, then diving vertically
down towards the other, uttering a drawn-out, screeching keeeearr. At
Vicentino on 8 February, one of two birds flying together carried sticks in
its feet which it deposited in an isolated tree in a field (but no nest could be
seen). Most observations involved lone individuals or presumed pairs
sitting at mid- to upper-storey level (often calling to each other), inside or
on the edge of forest, or in isolated trees in agricultural areas.

Although L. occidentalis is clearly vulnerable to deforestation, our
observations suggest that areas maintaining small patches of remnant
humid forest can still support small numbers of this species, at least in
the short term. However, as for the majority of bird species endemic to
the ‘Tumbesian region, its precise breeding requirements need to be
determined.

SOLITARY EAGLE Harpyhaliaetus solitarius near-threatened

One soaring at 1800m over Quebrada Suquinda (4km NW of
Sozoranga town), Loja Province, on 22 September 1989, was mobbed
by two Harris’s Hawks Parabuteo unicinctus. There are scattered records
of H. solitarius from a few sites in the Ecuadorean Andes and foothills
(e.g. Buenaventura, Robbins & Ridgely 1990). This species is rare
throughout its range from Central America to Argentina (Fjeldsa &
Krabbe 1990) and is thought to be threatened by montane forest
destruction (Collar & Andrew 1988); it has recently been given near-
threatened status in Collar et al. (1992). R. Ridgely informs us that the
species may have huge territories and hence be naturally rare throughout
its range.

RUFOUS-HEADED CHACHALACA Ortalis erythroptera 'T, near-threatened

Found at 7 sites in western Loja and in El Oro Province, Ecuador, in
small patches of remnant forest in the altitudinal range 900-1850 m. At
Quebrada Namballe, 6 km NW of Sozoranga town, this species occurred
at 1850 m, higher than the previously known altitudinal limit of 1390 m
(Chapman 1926), while Tambo Negro is the most southerly known site.
Approximately 30 small groups (2—5 birds in each) were encountered
during the 1991 survey, and at Sozoranga roughly twice as many groups
were found from January to March 1991 as in August and September
1989. O. erythroptera occurred in deciduous forest, but was most com-
mon in semi-evergreen and evergreen forest patches, and occasionally
also in adjacent agricultural land where they were seen in a banana
plantation and on the ground in a maize-field.

B. F. Best et al. 113 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

They were regularly heard vocalizing in the early morning, when
groups of up to seven individuals conducted extended bouts of counter-
calling from tall trees (also heard later in the day). At Tierra Colorada
groups called for extended periods during the day every 2-3 days; on
intervening days only sporadic birds called, which did not stimulate
others to call. The maximum density of calling groups was recorded on 11
March 1991: 6 groups in a 1-2 km? area around Quebrada Yaguana at
Sozoranga. We agree with Parker et al. (1989) that the raucous, repeated
kwak-ar-ar-ar call is noticeably slower and lower-pitched than in other
members of the genus Ortalis. Presumed pairs at Quebrada Yaguana
(Sept. 1989) and Tierra Colorada (Feb. 1991) gave a variety of calls
including a soft cooing, a harsh cow, and a fast, repeated Rawuck
(tape-recorded).

At Sozoranga, local people claimed to hunt O. erythroptera, but we
never saw the species being hunted at any site, despite being easily found
along well-used roads. Although forest fragmentation is expected to have
caused a decline in the numbers of O. erythroptera, it is still fairly common
in many forest remnants. This has led to the species being deleted from
the threatened categories of Collar et al. (1992) and placed with the near-
threatened species. It should be borne in mind that genetic isolation of
groups in forest remnants is a further threat to this, and many other
forest-dependent Tumbesian endemics (S. Strahl).

BEARDED GUAN Penelope barbata A, vulnerable/rare

A small group was encountered at 2625 m in Humid Montane Cloud
Forest at Cerro Chacras above the town of Ayabaca, in Piura Department,
Peru. On 23 September 1989 three birds flew into a small tree, where
they started feeding. The following day, several were heard calling and
wing-drumming at dawn, and a single bird at 15.30 hrs perched in the
mid-storey of a large tree. P. barbata is confined to the Andes of southern
Ecuador and northern Peru and is declining due to temperate zone
deforestation and hunting (Bloch et al. 1991). It is apparently less wary
than Ortalis erythroptera (C. Rahbek) and can still be readily found in
some areas of extensive cloud forest, such as the Podocarpus National
Park in southern Ecuador. The most recent estimate of the Ecuadorean
population is c. 1500 individuals (Bloch et al. 1991).

RUFOUS-NECKED WOOD-RAIL Aramides axillaris

One on 11 March 1991 was walking slowly through leaf-litter below
secondary, Semi-evergreen Lower Montane Cloud Forest at 1400 m at
Cerro Florida 3 km ENE of Sozoranga town, Loja Province, Ecuador.
The record extends the known upper altitudinal limit in Ecuador by
800 m. Away from coastal mangroves, there are very few records of A.
axillaris. In February 1988 M. Kessler found the species breeding in the
North-West Peru Biosphere Reserve (Parker et al. 1989).

OCHRE-BELLIED DOVE Leptotila ochraceiventris T, endangered

This rare, elusive dove was found at five new sites ranging from 650 to
2625 m (the latter being the highest study site); four in Loja Province,
Ecuador: Vicentino, Catacocha, Sozoranga and Tambo Negro, the fifth
in Piura Department, Peru (Ayabaca). The Ayabaca record at Cerro

B. F. Best et al. 114 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

Chacras (2625 m) unexpectedly extends the known upper altitudinal
limit of this species by 700 m into the temperate zone. Small numbers
(1-7 per day) were found in deciduous, semi-evergreen and evergreen
forest, on the leafy forest floor or in low bushes and trees, mainly in shady,
humid ravines (where they often gathered at streams to drink among
larger numbers of White-tipped Doves L. verreauxi). On three occasions
at Sozoranga, individuals or small groups occurred in low scrub away
from forest. In February 1991 a captive bird in Alamor (4°02’S, 80°02’W)
shared a tiny cage with a Grey-cheeked Parakeet Brotogeris pyrrhopterus,
having been trapped on agricultural land near to the town where large
numbers of L. verreauxi occurred.

This species was heard vocalizing only during our January—March
1991 survey, indicating they were then probably approaching breeding.
The presumed territorial call (tape-recorded by N. Krabbe) is a short,
guttural whoouur, rising then falling. In early February and early March
1991 four were found calling from a small patch of Semi-evergreen Cloud
Forest at Panacillo just NE of Sozoranga town. On 16 February one called
from an open area of secondary forest at Vicentino. On 9 March, five
weeks into the rainy season, three called from Ceiba trichistandra-
dominated Deciduous Forest at Tambo Negro. None were vocalizing at
Tambo Negro in August and September 1989 (but the species was seen),
nor in late January and early February 1991 before the onset of the annual
rains. In September 1989 birds fed on the marble-sized ripe fruit of a
Trichilia tree in Quebrada Suquinda at Sozoranga, the first documented
food-plant.

L. ochraceiventris has disappeared from several Ecuadorean localities
(e.g. Santa Rosa in El Oro Province; along the Rio Babahoyo, Guayas
Province) which have been deforested, and is clearly threatened by
deforestation and understorey degradation. This species seems especially
vulnerable to understorey disturbance, a characteristic shared by three
other Tumbesian endemics: Blackish-headed Spinetail Synallaxis
tithys, Henna-hooded Foliage-gleaner Hylocryptus erythrocephalus and
Grey-headed Antbird Myrmeciza griseiceps.

RED-MASKED PARAKEET Aratinga erythrogenys T,, near-threatened

Widespread, occurring at all but three of the sites surveyed from
the lowest site (320 m) to 2500 m; we also often saw it when travelling
between the sites. This parrot was found in deciduous, semi-evergreen
and evergreen forest, and in adjacent agricultural land with scattered trees
and bushes. In August and September 1989 A. erythrogenys flew over
‘Tambo Negro in large groups of up to 140 individuals at dusk, probably
moving to nocturnal roosts; large groups also flew by Utuana at dusk in
that month. From January to March 1991 fewer and smaller groups were
seen at T'ambo Negro; several obvious pairs included those investigating
holes in mature Cezba trichistandra trees. Courtship was observed
at Tambo Negro and Tierra Colorada. The largest flocks seen during
January—March 1991 were at Tierra Colorada, where the largest flock
numbered 82 individuals.

These observations indicate that in southwestern Ecuador, A.
erythrogenys breeds during the rainy season. The species frequently

B. #. Best et al. 115 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

flocked with Brotogeris pyrrhopterus; mixed groups were often seen
feeding in fruiting and flowering trees. In late August 1989, they fed on
red Erythrina flowers at Tambo Negro which also attracted 13 other bird
species and the squirrel Sciurus stramineus (Best & Clarke 1991). A.
erythrogenys was the most common captive parrot 1n the study area; the
species is probably threatened by the international cage-bird trade, as
large numbers are annually exported from Peru (M. Kessler, IUCN data)
and population declines in a number of areas are thought to be due to
intense deforestation (P. Greenfield, R. Ridgely). Although considered
potentially threatened by several workers (Best & Clarke 1991, Bloch
et al. 1991, P. Greenfield, R. Ridgely), A. erythrogenys is not listed as
officially threatened in (Collar et al. 1992); these authors preferring the
‘near-threatened’ category because it is still common in many Tumbesian
localities. However, as it requires stands of trees for breeding colonies,
and is evidently a popular cage-bird, it should be carefully monitored.

EL ORO PARAKEET Pyrrhura orcesi T, vulnerable/rare

On 15 February 1991 a new population of this recently described
(Ridgely & Robbins 1988) parakeet was found by N. Krabbe and
M. Kessler when a flock was heard in dense mist at 1300m between
Guanazan and Uzhcurrumi in northern El Oro Province (3°23’S,
79°32'W). This area (situated c. 40km N of the 1980 type-locality at
Buenaventura west of Pinas (Ridgely & Robbins 1988) consisted mainly
of gardens and orchards, with some tiny patches of wet forest. The record
also extends the known upper altitudinal limit of P. orcest by 300 m. We
also encountered this species at Buenaventura, 1n groups of 3—10 individ-
uals within and on the edge of Very Humid Premontane Cloud Forest. In
addition to the above two localities, P. orcesi is only known from four
others: Piedras in El] Oro Province (a previously overlooked specimen in
the BMNH: Ridgely & Robbins 1988) and three localities on the Pacific
slope in Azuay Province to the north (Collar et al. 1992), and is thus very
vulnerable to deforestation within its tiny range.

GREY-CHEEKED PARAKEET Brotogeris pyrrhopterus ‘Tl, near-threatened

Found at 8 sites in Loja and El] Oro Provinces, Ecuador, from 320 m
(the lowest study site) to 1400m. In addition to those sites listed in
Appendix B, groups were also found at numerous places whilst travelling
between the study sites. B. pyrrhopterus occurred in deciduous and semi-
deciduous forest, and also in adjacent agricultural areas, but seemed to
prefer drier habitats. At Tambo Negro, they formed groups of up to 40 in
August and September 1989; smaller groups predominated there from
January to March 1991, with many pairs. These investigated holes in
mature Cezba trichistandra trees, copulated and allopreened. A pair was
also seen copulating there in August 1989. Groups fed on Erythrina
flowers at this site in August and September 1989, and on Cezba seeds in
January.

Several captives were seen in the study area; like A. erythrogenys, the
present species is probably threatened by the international cage-bird
trade and by habitat destruction. No fewer than 97,947 were reported
in trade from 1982-1990, and large shipments of this species into the
USA and Europe apparently continue (IUCN data). Despite marked

B. F. Best et al. 116 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

population declines in some areas (e.g. along the Rio Babahoyo; Best &
Clarke 1991), B. pyrrhopterus is not listed in one of the threatened
categories of Collar et al. (1992) because it is still fairly common in
degraded agricultural habitats. However, because the species nests in
tree-holes (Parker et al. 1989) it is still vulnerable, and has been given
near-threatened status in Collar et al. (1992).

PERUVIAN SCREECH-OWL Otus roboratus ap

Several heard in February—March 1991 in Loja Province, Ecuador,
in Ceiba-dominated Forest at Tambo Negro, and also two singles near
Sozoranga (Panacillo and Quebrada Yaguana), both in Semi-evergreen
Lower Montane Cloud Forest. ‘Two different vocalizations were heard: a
barked ow and a short trill; these match the calls of this species recorded by
other workers. On range, these records probably refer to the subspecies O.
r. pacificus which 1s known from several localities in northwestern Peru
(Johnson & Jones 1990). O. roboratus has only recently been confirmed as
occurring in Ecuador, and a series of new records extends its known
northerly limit to yaneches in Los Rios Province at 1°10’'S, 79°30’W (P.
Coopmans, Parker & Carr 1992).

STYGIAN OWL Aszo stygius

On the evenings of 10, 11 and 12 March 1991, one was watched by
spotlamp, perched on a television aerial in Sozoranga town centre (Loja
Province, Ecuador). It called each night with a deep, repeated hwooo for
variable periods around 22.00 hrs. Residents described the species as
‘common’ and a nuisance, because the presence of birds on television
aerials interferes with reception. Furthermore, sometimes this species
and Barn Owl Tyto alba are captured, doused with petrol then set alight
and released. A. stygius is rare or very local throughout its range from
Central America to Argentina (Fjeldsa & Krabbe 1990).

RAINBOW STARFRONTLET Coeligena iris A

Recorded at four sites in Loja Province, Ecuador, in Semi-evergreen
Lower Montane and Montane Cloud Forest and in nearby humid shrub-
bery from 1700 m (unusually low for the species) to 2625 m (the highest
study site; C. iris occurs higher in nearby mountains (Bloch et al. 1991)).
At Utuana in September 1989 C. iris was fairly common, and in February
1991 this species and Purple-throated Sunangel Heliangelus viola took
part in both inter- and intra-specific territorial disputes. C. iris is
restricted to montane southern Ecuador and northern Peru (Fjeldsa &
Krabbe 1990), and although given near-threatened status in Collar &
Andrew (1988), the species is no longer considered at risk because it
occurs so commonly in degraded secondary habitats.

GORGETED SUNANGEL Heliangelus strophianus C, near-threatened

Small numbers were seen at Buenaventura, El] Oro Province, Ecuador,
in February and March 1991, frequenting the mid- and understorey
of Very Humid Premontane Cloud Forest. This species is a virtual
Ecuador endemic and these records constitute a southward range exten-
sion from Azuay Province, approximately 100 km to the north (Ridgely &
Greenfield in prep.).

B. f. Best et al. 117 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

PURPLE-THROATED SUNANGEL Heliangelus viola A

Fairly common at two sites in Loja Province, Ecuador: Utuana and
Celica, and also found at Ayabaca in Piura Department, Peru, in Humid
Montane Cloud Forest and humid shrubbery from 2000 to 2625 m (the
highest study site; like C. zvzs it occurs at higher elevations nearby (Bloch
et al. 1991)). It possesses a distribution similar to Coeligena iris and was
similarly given near-threatened status in Collar & Andrew (1988), being
formally considered a true forest hummingbird. However, like that
species, it occurs regularly in degraded areas and is not in any danger
(R. Ridgely). This is confirmed by Collar et al. (1992) who do not list the
species as near-threatened.

BLACKISH-HEADED SPINETAIL Synallaxis tithys T, endangered

Recorded only in forest at Tambo Negro where it occurred throughout
the altitudinal range of the locality (600-1000 m), extending the known
upper altitudinal limit of the species by 250 m. Tambo Negro 1s also the
most southerly point of the species’ known range, and the most inland
site. A MCZ specimen was collected within 2 km of Tambo Negro in
October 1965 by D. Norton (R. Ridgely). Small groups or presumed
pairs foraged in the leaf-litter and the understorey of Cezba-dominated
Deciduous Forest; birds were mainly observed 1m or less from the
ground (exceptionally to 5 m, see below). The species seemed most com-
mon in denser understorey, frequently hopping through the leaf-litter
(one individual was seen to completely immerse itself under leaves),
sometimes with Black-capped Sparrows Arremon abeillet. In January and
February 1991, several were found calling high up (to 5 m) in leafless
trees. Their distinctive, churring, wren-like call, a short upward inflected
trill, was tape-recorded (Fig. 2).

We believe S. tithys is gravely at risk from deforestation and under-
storey disturbance; in the last decade it has been found at only seven sites,
all but one in Ecuador (see Collar et al. 1992), being confined to forest in
all except one. Even at that locality (Alamor) the species may only occur
seasonally (Williams & Tobias in prep.).

RUFOUS-NECKED FOLIAGE-GLEANER
Syndactyla ( Automolus ) ruficollis T, endangered

Occurred at six sites in Loja Province, Ecuador, and at Ayabaca in
Piura Department, Peru, from 600 to 2625 m (the highest study site).
The species was uncommon from 600 to 1000m in Ceiba-dominated
Deciduous Forest (there are very few recent records below 1000 m;
Ridgely & Greenfield in prep.), being commoner above 1500 m in the
mid- and understorey of Semi-evergreen Lower Montane and Montane
Cloud Forest, sometimes in bamboo. The bird occurred in single-species
and mixed-species flocks including one unusually large group of at least
10 S. ruficollis foraging in a loose flock through cloud forest trees on 22
September 1989 at Utuana. S. ruficollis frequently probed the bases of
arboreal bromeliads, presumably in search of arthropods.

On 3 February 1991, one at Tambo Negro foraged in the leaf-litter,
_ behaviour more typical of Henna-hooded Foliage-gleaner Hylocryptus
_ erythrocephalus. Vocalizations included a staccato chek; the territorial
song was a drawn-out chik, chik, che-che, tirrrrrr, the last note drawn-out

B. Ff. Best et al. 118 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

1 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5

Figure 2. Calls of Synallaxis tithys (left) and Syndactyla ruficollis (right), from recordings
made by Dr F. Lambert.

and downward inflected (Fig. 2). On the basis of its vocalizations and
arboreal habits this species is now usually treated as a Syndactyla rather
than an Automolus (Fjeldsa & Krabbe 1990, Parker et al. 1989); our
recordings of its voice and observations of its behaviour support this
taxonomic revision. This information on S. ruficollis supplements that of
Parker et al. (1985) from Cruz Blanca in Piura Department, Peru. S.
ruficollis is threatened by deforestation and especially the trampling of
undergrowth by cattle and clearance of bamboo for pack animal fodder
(Best & Clarke 1991, Parker et al. 1985). Its distribution is more
montane than most of the Ttumbesian endemics and it occurs in the same
threatened forest types as the Grey-headed Antbird Myrmeciza griseiceps.

HENNA-HOODED FOLIAGE-GLEANER
Hylocryptus erythrocephalus T, indeterminate

This distinctive furnariid occurred at four sites in Loja Province,
Ecuador, from 600-1800 m. The 1800m sightings at Sozoranga make
that site the highest so far discovered for the species, which was pre-
viously known only to 1390 m near Alamor (Chapman 1926). At Tambo
Negro it was fairly common and easily located during January—March
1991, although it had not been found in August-September 1989,
suggesting that it may undertake local seasonal movements. It occurred
singly, in presumed pairs or in mixed-species flocks under Cezba-
dominated Deciduous Forest and Semi-evergreen Lower Montane
Cloud Forest, and appeared to favour areas with a dense understorey
and a thick covering of leaf-litter, often under less disturbed forest.
Individuals spent much of the time on or within 1 m of the forest-floor,
habitually rummaging noisily in the leaf-litter, tossing leaves and twigs
into the air (making them conspicuous when feeding). These obser-
vations complement those of Wiedenfeld e¢ al. (1985) and Parker et al.
(1989) from Tumbes Department, Peru.

The staccato, chattering call (see Paynter 1972 for sonagram) was not
heard at Sozoranga or Tambo Negro on our August to September 1989
survey, but was repeatedly heard there during January to March 1991

K. C. Parkes 119 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

(when it was tape-recorded). But in June 1989 the bird was heard calling
in Quebrada Yaguana at Sozoranga (Bloch et al. 1991). Birds occasionally
perched up to 3 m in low bushes and trees and called repeatedly.

On 27 January 1991 a dispute involved three individuals chasing and
violently attacking each other up to 2m off the ground, making short
flights from branch to branch and calling very loudly. H. erythrocephalus
is a hole-nester (the first occupied nest-hole was found by M. Kessler in
February 1986 at El] Caucho in the North-West Peru Biosphere Reserve
in Tumbes Department; Parker et al. 1989) and at least four probable
nest-holes were found, surrounded by low scrub, in the crumbling road-
side earth-cliffs near Sozoranga. The bird 1s threatened by deforestation
and understorey clearance in the tropical and subtropical zones, and
except for an outlying population in Manabi Province, Ecuador (Parker &
Carr 1992, R. Ridgely), it is confined to a small area of Ecuador’s El Oro
and Loja Provinces and adjacent northwestern Peru.

(to be continued )

‘The name of the Ecuadorean subspecies of the
Chestnut-collared Swallow Hirundo rufocollarts

by Kenneth C. Parkes
Received 19 May 1992

In much of the literature, the Cave Swallow Hirundo fulva of the southern
U.S., Mexico, and the West Indies, is credited with having two isolated
subspecies on the west coast of South America, in Peru and Ecuador.
Ridgely & Tudor (1989) considered these populations to represent a
separate species, the Chestnut-collared Swallow H. rufocollaris, and this
treatment is followed here. The type locality of Hirundo rufocollaris Peale,
1848, is in Peru. Chapman (1924) named the Ecuadorean population
Petrochelidon rufocollaris aequatorialis.

Earlier, Lawrence (1867) had described a new species as ‘‘Hirundo
aequitorialis’’. ‘This name has always been considered to be a synonym
of Tachycineta albiventer Boddaert, 1783, the White-winged Swallow.
Hellmayr (1935: 71, footnote) stated that ‘‘aequitorialis’’ of Lawrence
was a misprint for ‘‘aequatorialis’’. Brooke (1974) accepted Hellmayr’s
dictum, and pointed out that once Petrochelidon was merged with
Hirundo, as now accepted by the majority of authors, P. rufocollaris
aequatorialis Chapman, 1924, would be preoccupied by H. “aequatorialis”’
Lawrence, 1867. Brooke therefore renamed the Ecuador subspecies of
Chestnut-collared Swallow as Hirundo (Petrochelidon) fulva chapmani,
nom. nov.

The difficulty with all of this is that Hellmayr’s statement was
contrary to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. The
name aequitorialis appears only once in Lawrence’s paper (which Brooke
had not seen), so that there is no internal evidence that this was in fact a

K. C. Parkes 120 Bull, B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

lapsus calami. Article 57(f) of the 3rd edition (Ride et al. 1985) of the Code
states: ‘Except as specified in Article 58, a one-letter difference between
species-group names is sufficient to prevent homonymy ...”’ Article 58
lists 14 kinds of spelling differences that constitute exceptions to Article
57(f) such that names so differing are nevertheless homonymous; none of
these exceptions applies to the case of aequitorialis versus aequatorialis.
Chapman’s name aequatorialis will therefore stand for the Ecuadorean
subspecies of Chestnut-collared Swallow, with chapmani Brooke as a
synonym.

Although Hirundo aequitorialis Lawrence now rests in the synonymy
of Tachycineta albiventer, that species is currently considered to be
monotypic. Its type locality is Cayenne, and it has a very large range in
South America. Lawrence (1867) gave the type locality of aequitorialis
as ‘“‘Ecuador, Quito’’, but according to Hellmayr (1935), Lawrence’s
holotype, now in the collection of the American Museum of Natural
History, is from the Rio Napo. It is quite conceivable that geographic
variation in 7°. albiventer, may be detected at some future time, in which
case the name aequitorialis may be revived for far western populations.
Carnegie Museum of Natural History has no material from Ecuador, but
two specimens from eastern Bolivia have distinctly longer wings Shee
topotypes from Cayenne and specimens from eastern Amazonian Brazil.

Acknowledgement

I am grateful to my colleague Robin K. Panza, who called my attention to long-forgotten
nomenclatural notes on these swallows that I wrote at the time of the publication of Brooke’s

paper.

References:

Brooke, R. K. 1974. Nomenclatural notes on and the type localities of some taxa in the
Apodidae and Hirundinidae (Aves). Durban Mus. Novit. 10: 127-137.

Chapman, F. M. 1924. Descriptions of new birds from Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, and
Bolivia. Am. Mus. Novit. no. 138.

Hellmayr, C. E. 1935. Catalogue of birds of the Americas ... part 8. Field Mus. Nat. Hist.
Zool. Ser. 13 (8).

Lawrence, G. N. 1867. Descriptions of six new species of birds of the families HIRUNDI-
NIDAE, FORMICARIDAE [sic], TYRANNIDAE, and TROCHILIDAE. Ann.
Lyceum Nat. Hist. New York 8: 400-405.

Ride, W. D. L. et al. (editors). 1985. International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, 3rd ed.
international Trust for Zool. Nomen., London.

Ridgely, R. S. & Tudor, G. 1989. The Birds of South America. Vol. 1. Univ. Texas Press,

Austin.

Address: Carnegie Museum of Natural History, 4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania 15213, U.S.A.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

F. Fjeldsa 121 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

Phrygilus coracinus Sclater, 1891, is a valid
taxon

by Fon Fyeldsa
Received 16 May 1992

On 30 April 1987 an almost totally black sierra-finch was mistnetted
and collected at 4350 m altitude in the lower parts of extensive bushy
woodland of Polylepis tarapacana on the slope of the Sajama volcano
in arid western Oruro, Bolivia, near the Chilean border (loc. 94e in
Fjeldsa 1987). The bird resembled a male of the Patagonian Phrygilus
carbonarius, but differed from it by having thin white wing-bars and by
being larger, like P. fruticeti. On the following day a bird resembling a
normal male P. fruticeti was seen ona rocky Polylepis slope a few km away
(Loc. 94d), which could indicate that the collected bird was a melanistic
individual of P. fruticetz.

Later it became clear that the blackish form had been described and
named Phrygilus coracinus on the basis of a bird collected ‘‘8 leagues from
Sacaya”’ in Tarapaca in northern Chile in 1886 by A. A. Lane (Sclater
1891; see also Lane 1891). However, the taxon was synonymized by
Hellmayr (1932), who pointed out that the bird was in very worn plumage
(lacking grey feather-edges) and that a less blackish specimen had been
taken by Lane together with the coracinus type. Hellmayr (op. cit.) thus
interpreted coracinus as a dark individual variant in an extremely worn
dress. He also pointed out that the illustration (P1.13) in Sclater (1891)
conveys a wrong impression of the bird.

Having examined large numbers of P. fruticeti specimens, I here
demonstrate that Hellmayr’s synonymization of P. coracinus was also
mistaken.

Specimens examined

The examination of specimens was done in 1987-89 as part of a
general study of differentiation of populations of birds inhabiting
shrubby habitats and relict woodlands in the high parts of the Andes.
259 specimens of P. fruticeti were studied in the following institutions:
the American Museum of Natural History, New York; Academy of
Natural Sciences, Philadelphia; Natural History Museum, London
(Ornithology Department in Tring); Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh;
Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago; Louisiana State University,
Museum of Zoology, Baton Rouge; L’Institute Royal des Sciences
Naturelles, Bruxelles; Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales
“Bernardino Rivadavia’’, Buenos Aires; Museo de Historia Natural
“Javier Prado” de la UNMSM, Lima; Museo Nacional de Historia
Natural, La Paz; Muséum National d’ Histoire Naturelle, Paris; National
Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington,
D.C.; Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie, Leiden; Royal Ontario
Museum, Toronto: Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm;
Zoologisches Forschungsinstitut und Museum Alexander Konig, Bonn;

J. Fyeldsa 122 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

Universidad San Antonio Abad del Cusco; and Zoological Museum,
University of Copenhagen.
Colour terminology follows Ridgway (1912).

Geographical distribution

Phrygilus fruticeti 1s widely distributed in Andean valleys and along
the slopes in Argentina and Chile and northwards through Bolivia to
northern Peru, from sea-level in the south, but mainly in the lower part of
the temperate zone in the north (1500-3850 m). Within its wide range it is
common locally in semi-arid zones and usually below the limit of regular
nightly frost. It favours the shrub-steppe vegetation and may form
semi-colonies in places with short-fallow shifting and some hedges and
clumps of composite and solanaceous shrubbery, Colletia shrub and
columnar cacti. It is generally absent from the high plateaus, except
locally near the large wetlands, which may have a stabilizing effect on the
local climate. On the basis of this general pattern it is somewhat surprising
to find it locally in the arid puna zone of western Bolivia, mainly in the
transition zone between the tolar steppe (Lepidophyllum) and the
Polylepis scrub of the volcanic slopes (see Fig. 1, and Lieberman 1985 for
typical habitat zonation).

Variations in measurements

‘The only measurement taken on all examined specimens is flattened
wing-length. The variation for adult males in shown in Table 1 (females
were poorly represented in certain parts of the range and are not shown;
however, they appear to follow a parallel geographical pattern, with mean
values 5 mm below those for males). The table shows a quite stable mean
around 100mm (but with a platykurtic variance) all the way from the
south of the continent to northern Chile and the altiplano of Puno in Peru,
and thereafter another level around 93 mm in the rest of Peru, in the
inter-Andean basins as well as on the Pacific slope. Birds of the upper
Urubamba Valley of Cuzco and on the Pacific slope in southern Peru are
very variable, giving intermediate mean values. A comparison of males
from north and south of this transition zone gives a coefficient of differ-
ence of 1.17, which corresponds to 88% joint non-overlap. However, the
weight (data on some labels) appears to be constantly around 35 g (males)
all the way, and according to Zimmer (1924) the same lack of variation
holds true also for bill and tarsus. Therefore, the only variation seems to
be in the relative wing-length.

General plumage description

Comparing plumage colours is complicated by the seasonal variation
caused by wear of the feather edges. Fresh-moulted birds (during
the southern winter) are rather uniform drab-coloured with broad
ochraceous tawny to drab-grey feather-edges (pale grey on the black
foreparts) and very little of the black feather-centres shining through.
These edges wear off in the more contrasting breeding dress. ‘Thus, it is
necessary to examine the hidden parts of the plumage and judge what each
individual bird would look like if it were in full breeding garb. In this
condition, adult males are characterized by extensive deep gull-grey areas

F. Fyeldsa 123 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

PERU

BOLIVIA

=
[e)

a! Ys
Sacaya w= ;
Sie

“" ARGENTINA

Figure 1. Records of typical Phrygilus fruticeti coracinus, with the distribution of Polylepis
scrub on lava plateaus and volcanic slopes in western Bolivia shaded.

TABLE 1
Wing-lengths (flattened, mm) of males of Phrygilus fruticeti from different parts of the
range. N Peru is defined as montane basins of northern Peru and Pacific slope south to Ica;
C Peru as the valleys of Huancavelica, Ayacucho and Apurimac; S Peru as the Pacific slope
of southern Peru; S Bol as the valleys of Potosi, Chuquisaca and Tarija; W Bol as the high
plateaus of western La Paz, Oruro and Potosi and adjacent Chile, inhabited by P. fruticeti
coracinus; C Chile is from Coquimbo to Puerto Montt. Other geographical names are single
Departments, or otherwise self-explanatory.

Wing-length

Area n mean s.d.
N Peru 22 93.0 DAD)
C Peru 14 92.5 28
Cuzco 36 95.6 2.5
Puno 6 97.9 DBD
S Peru 9 97.2 Si.
W Bol 5 104.8 S.A
La Paz 10 98.2 DED,
Cochabamba 14 100.2 233
S Bol 7 100.4 2.1
Atacama desert + 103.6 162)
C Chile 13 98.2 2:3
Argentina ah 98.3 1.8

JF. Fyeldsa 124 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

especially on sides of head, neck and body and on lower back and rump;
the remaining upperparts grey with black streaks but some feather-edges
on crown, mantle and humerals ochraceous; black throat and breast and
white lower underparts. Females have’ grey parts partly replaced by
light ochraceous, the grey breast streaked black, ear-coverts warm
orange-brown, and the face distinctly patterned with white whiskers
separated by blackish malars from the white upper throat. Juveniles are
bufher with fine streaks on the sides. In all plumages, the median and
greater wing-coverts are tipped white, forming two wing-bars which are
5 mm broad in typical males.

Geographical variation in colours and pattern

In general, Peruvian males have narrow (tapering) dark streaks on the
crown and (notably) hindneck, extensively deep gull- “grey sides of
head and heavy blackish stripes on mantle and humerals. A quite similar
colouration was found also in birds from Putre (Tacna) and further
south in Chile, and in Patagonia, but these birds usually appear slightly
more ochraceous grey, with the dark dorsal streaks diluted to a dull
earth-brown. Birds of the Altiplano of southern Peru and Bolivia had
broader crown-streaks often invading the otherwise grey areas on cheeks
and ear-coverts.

On the whole, the variation is subtle so far, as also indicated by the
accounts of Zimmer (1924) and Hellmayr (1932). However, birds
from the arid puna of western Bolivia are strikingly different, and
correspond to “‘Phrygilus coracinus’’: males are black almost throughout,
save for some thin grey or clay-coloured feather-edges, especially above
(foreparts of a bird in fresh plumage shown on Plate LVIII 9d in Fjeldsa
& Krabbe 1990); males in worn dress are jet black, except for traces of
grey streaks on back and rump, and conspicuous white feather-tips only
in the cloacal region and vent. The white wing-bars and pale grey tail-tip
are always very narrow (1-2 mm). The legs (of the Sajama bird) were
darker orange brown than the light brown or straw colour in birds from
lower-altitude sites in Peru and Bolivia (live birds handled on several
occasions).

Adult females (by label data) from this area have grey and black
foreparts and almost match adult males of other populations; the only
constant difference being paler grey lores grizzled with blackish
feather-tips, instead of fully black lores, and the ear-coverts
showing some brown tinge. They are thus entirely different from the
ochraceous-washed females of other populations.

Most coracinus specimens have been collected by M. A. Carriker, Jr.,
and have been available to many other students. However, no-one has
commented on their distinctive characters. This may have two reasons:
the species was viewed as widespread and uninteresting ‘trash’, and
series with black males and females resembling ‘normal’ males give the
immediate impression of strongly variable males.

Typical coracinus specimens are from the Sajama volcano (1), Llica
west of Uyuni salt-lake (7), Uyuni (3), Llallagua (2) and Sacaya (the type
in the Natural History Museum) (Fig. 1); furthermore there was one
aviary specimen (Carnegie Museum, misidentified as P. carbonaria).

F. Fjeldsa 125 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

M. Kessler (pers. comm.) saw coracinus in Lepidophyllum habitat in the
Sajama area and further southeast near Turco but not further south, and
the range is probably restricted mainly to the mosaics or ecotones of
Lepidophyllum and Polylepis shrubbery in western Bolivia (stippled area
in Fig. 1). The localities are at 3700—4400m. At Sacaya (altitude
variously given as 3050, 3800 and 3960 m) it may have been a visitor from
higher altitudes, as the locals did not know the bird (Lane 1891).

This form is so distinctive that one could immediately suspect it to be
a separate species. However, some intermediate specimens exist in
collections, suggesting hybridization in the adjacent ecotones. One
intermediate male was taken at Sacaya with the type of coracinus
(Hellmayr 1932), another at Pampa Aullagas at 3700 m in Oruro, and
individuals coming closer to ‘typical’ Bolivian birds are from Potosi
(1) and Callipampa near the north corner of Lake Poopo in Oruro (4).
Slight tendencies towards coracinus were seen in single individuals
(among normal specimens) from the upper Pilcomayo drainage west of
Potosi, Cerdas in Potosi, and from Nor Cinti in Chuquisaca. As stated
above, arather strongly black-streaked crown and face characterises most
Bolivian specimens, but was not shown by aseries from Putre in Tacna in
northernmost Chile.

Specimens of transitional types are almost as well represented in
collections as typical coracinus. However, I am sure that this is asampling
error, because much more collecting has been done along the main roads
following the eastern edge of the Altiplano (which appears to be the
hybrid zone) than 1n desolate western Bolivia.

Conclusion

I propose that coracinus be recognized as a well-marked subspecies with
asmall range in western Oruro and Potosi and maybe into the very nearest
alpine zone of northern Chile. The typical life-zone of P. fruticeti
coracinus may be the pumice slopes and lava formations with scattered
Polylepis shrubbery fringing low-lying areas with Lepidophyllum steppe
and small meadow-like areas. P. fruticeti sometimes ascends to the lower
fringes of Polylepis woodlands (3850 m) elsewhere in the Andes, but these
habitats in western Bolivia are generally above 4000 m and climatically
much more extreme. This part of the puna zone is characterized by
drought, very clear air and blazing sun. Mid-day temperatures are
pleasant, but the nights and early mornings are biting cold, especially on
the plains below the Polylepis-dotted slopes.

Bird species with wholly or partly black plumages are generally well
represented in desert, especially in desert mountains. Thus P. fruticeti
coracinus can be seen as an example of a more widespread adaptive
trend. It may be no coincidence that the ‘hooded’ sierra-finches have a
black-headed representative (Phrygilus atriceps) in the arid parts of the
high Andes, and furthermore that its populations in the most arid western
part of the central range have almost black wings (Fjeldsa & Krabbe
1990: 661). Black colour should cause increased heat gain and reduce the
harmful radiation that penetrates to the skin, and it increases a feather’s
resistance to wear (Finch et al. 1980, and especially Burtt 1986), all of
which should be valuable in the climate of western Bolivia.

¥. Fjeldsa 126 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

The northern subspecies P. fruticeti peruvianus is poorly differentiated;
the joint non-overlap of 88°, with southern birds in wing-lengths of
males is slightly below the conventional level for subspecific difference
of 90%, but the northern birds differ additionally by having more
distinctive black streaking on their backs. I will therefore recommend
maintaining this subspecies. Zimmer (1924) defined the range of
peruvianus as Peru, but as he had specimens only from the northern part
of the country, and no specimens from Bolivia or extreme northern Chile,
he could not know where to draw the line between the two subspecies.
Hellmayr (1932) extended the range of peruvianus to La Paz (but this is
hardly supported by his list of measurements), and Paynter (1970, with
no evidence stated) extended it to Cochabamba in Bolivia. Judging from
Table 1 and plumage colours (see above), peruvianus is restricted to Peru
north of Puno and Arequipa. The main ‘filtering barriers’ for gene-flow
may be the transverse mountain ranges westwards from Abra La Raya on
the Puno/Cuzco border. South of this barrier there is some variation in
colours, males from outside the coracinus range in Bolivia showing more
or less extensively black-streaked faces. However, this differentiation is
too subtle for defining an additional subspecies.

Acknowledgements

The staffs of the museums mentioned are thanked for their helpfulness during my visits.
For assistance and company in the field my thanks are due to P. Arctander, V. Baptista,
E. Bering, D. Boertmann, J. Brandbyge, K. Fahnge, O. Karsholt, J. and especially
N. Krabbe. My research has been supported principally by the Danish Science Research
Council.

References:

Burtt, E. T., Jr. 1986. An analysis of physical, physiological, and optical aspects of
avian coloration with emphasis on wood warblers. Orn. Monogr. no. 39. American
Ornithologists’ Union.

Finch, V. A., Dmi’el, R., Boxman, R., Sckolnik, A. & Taylor, C. R. 1980. Why black goats
in hot deserts? Effects of coat color on heat exchange of wild and domestic goats.
Physiol. Zool. 53: 19-25.

Fjeldsa, J. 1987. Birds of relict forests in the high Andes of Peru and Bolivia. Technical
report from the Polylepis forest expedition of the Zoological Museum, 1987, with some
preliminary suggestions for habitat preservation. Zoological Museum, Copenhagen.

Fjeldsa, J. & Krabbe, N. 1990. Birds of the High Andes. Zoological Museum, Copenhagen.

Hellmayr, C. E. 1932. The birds of Chile. Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Publ. 308, Zool. Ser. XIX.

Lane, A. A. 1891. Field-notes of Chili. With an introduction and remarks by P. L. Sclater.
Ibis (7)3: 8-51.

Lieberman, C. M. 1985. Mapa de la vegetacion del Nevado Sajama (Bolivia). Documents
Phytosociologiques Vol. X(2), Camerino.

Paynter, R. A. 1970. Emberizinae. Pp. 3-214 in J. L. Peters (ed.) Check-list of Birds of the
World. Vol. 13. Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard.

Ridgway, R. 1912. Color Standards and Color Nomenclature. Published by the Author,
Washington, D.C.

Sclater, P. L. 1891. Onasecond collection of birds from the Province of Tarapaca, northern
Chili. Proc. Zool. Soc. London: 395—404.

Zimmer, J. T. 1924. New birds from central Peru. Field Mus. Publ. Zool. Chicago 12: 51—67.

Address: Dr J. Fjeldsa, Zoologisk Museum, Universitetsparken 15, DK 2100 Copenhagen,
Denmark.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

In Brief 127 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)
IN BRIEF

DISTRIBUTIONAL ERRORS IN ‘“‘THE BIRDS OF LA PLATA ISLAND, ECUADOR”
(ORTIZ-CRESPO & AGNEW 1992)

The recent paper by Ortiz-Crespo & Agnew (1992, Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl.
112: 66-73) on the birds of La Plata Island, Ecuador, usefully brings up to
date our knowledge of the avifauna of that isolated island. Unfortunately
two statements in their paper concerning distributional records in the
“eastern Pacific’’ suggest that their familiarity with the literature of that
region is confined to the waters off South America.

RED-FOOTED BOOBY Sula sula

The 20 individuals seen of this species are said (p. 69) to substantiate
“that La Plata has the only colony of this species breeding in the entire
eastern Pacific other than the one in the Galapagos.’’ They have over-
looked the colony on Cocos Island (5°32’N, 87°04'’W), a possession of
Costa Rica lying some 450 miles northeast of the Galapagos Archipelago
(Slud 1967, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 134: 261-296). The species also
breeds on several islands in the Revillagigedo Archipelago, which lies
between 230 and 250 miles south of the tip of Baja California, Mexico.
The colony on Isla San Benedicto in that archipelago, which I have
visited twice, is of particular interest because the nests of this species,
normally on bushes or small trees, are placed on shelves of the jagged and
irregular pinnacles of a treeless lava delta. For the history of this colony,
see Jehl & Parkes (1982, Wilson Bull. 94: 1-19). Both of these localities

clearly lie in the “‘eastern Pacific’’.

GREAT FRIGATEBIRD Fregata minor

The authors state in their comparison of the La Plata and Galapagos
avifaunas (p. 71) that the colony on Isla Genovesa, Galapagos, is ‘“‘the
only Great Frigatebird Fregata minor colony known in the eastern Pacific
... They have overlooked the colonies on the same islands as in the case
of Sula sula. Slud (loc. cit.) pointed out that collected specimens verified
field observations that the resident frigatebird on Cocos Island was F.
minor. Vhere were sight records of small numbers of Magnificent Frigate-
birds F’. magnificens, but no indication that this species also nested on
Cocos Island. As for the Islas Revillagigedos, all authors writing of these
islands through 1956 agreed that the breeding frigatebird was F’. minor (in
contradiction to the statement of Ortiz-Crespo & Agnew). R. L. Pitman
of our 1978 expedition found about 50 individuals including newly
fledged young roosting on the northwest side of Isla San Benedicto in
1978, and a colony of about 50 pairs (5 nests seen) on a steep cliff on the
northwestern side of the island. At both Isla Socorro and Isla San
Benedicto, 5-10 individuals of F’. magnificens were seen in November
1974, April 1978, and April 1981. Furthermore, near the lava delta on San
Benedicto in April 1978, both species were seen in about equal numbers.
Two female magnificens collected there were in non-breeding condition
and one was in heavy moult. However, a male magnificens collected at
Bahia Academy, Isla Socorro, on 14 April 1978, had enlarged testes
(19x13mm). As frigatebirds do not normally wander far from the

Book Received 128 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(2)

immediate area of nesting colonies, we believe that F’. magnificens may
well nest somewhere in the extensive areas of wooded habitat on Isla
Socorro (Jehl & Parkes, Joc. cit.). This would suggest that the Islas
Revillagigedos may be the second known area, after the Galapagos, where
F.. minor and F. magnificens breed together, although the observations on
Cocos Island at least hint at that location as a third area of sympatry.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History, KENNETH C. PARKES
4400 Forbes Avenue,

Pittsburgh, PA 15213,

U.S.A. 21 July 1992

BOOK RECEIVED

del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. (eds) 1992. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 1,
Ostrich to Ducks. Pp. 696. 50 colour plates, numerous text-figures (all in colour) and
maps. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. ISBN 84-87334-10-5. £95. 32 x 25 cm.

One’s first reaction to the advance publicity given to this book was amazement that
anyone, or any group of people, should have dared to undertake anything so ambitious. How
could competent authors be found to cover all aspects of all birds? How could even the
keenest editorial team keep authors and artists to a deadline? How could a world handbook
be kept within manageable size? But on reading the 18-page Introduction one is immedi-
ately impressed by the careful thought and planning that have made it possible to produce a
highly satisfactory synthesis, of large but not unmanageable size, which presents a degree of
detail adequate for most purposes, with a bibliography for each species enabling the reader
to pursue enquiries further in the literature.

A 38-page section, dealing with the class Aves and constituting a useful summary of bird
biology, follows the Introduction. This is followed by the main, systematic part of the book.
The basic unit for organizing the text is the Family. Though there is some variation in the
treatment (e.g. in the case of monospecific families, or families divided into well-marked
subfamilies), each family account begins with a section dealing with general aspects under
the headings: Systematics, Morphological Aspects, Habitat, General Habits, Voice, Food
and Feeding, Breeding, Movements, Relationship with Man, Status and Conservation. The
family accounts are richly illustrated with a superb selection of colour photographs, well
reproduced. The species accounts follow; they summarize, also under standard headings,
information relating to each species, if necessary with cross-reference to the family account,
thus avoiding unnecessary duplication. Every species is illustrated in a colour plate (adult
plumages only; the most distinct subspecies included), and each has a small but adequate
distribution map, showing breeding and non-breeding ranges. The plates, which are the
work of F. Jutglar, Ll. Sanz, A. Jutglar, J. Varela and LI. Solé, are of the highest standard.
The classification used is sensibly conservative, mainly following the Morony, Bock and
Farrand Reference Lists of Birds of the World (1975).

Space prevents a listing of all the contributors to this work. Most are from Barcelona, as
are the publishers; and the only item of text not in English is a brief dedication in Catalan, to
Ramon Mascort. In giving full information on the conservation status of all species one of
the aims of the work, which has been produced in collaboration with ICBP (now Birdlife
International), is to promote the cause of avian conservation. If subsequent volumes appear
without undue delays, it will also have succeeded magnificently in presenting the best, and
most finely illustrated, account of the world’s birds, thus superseding many lesser works.
Homage to Catalonia!

NOTICE TO CONTRIBUTORS

Papers, from Club Members or non-members, should be sent to the Editor, Dr
D. W. Snow, The Old Forge, Wingrave, Aylesbury, Bucks HP22 4PD, U.K., and
must be offered solely to the Bulletin. They should be typed on one side of the
paper, with treble-spacing and a wide margin, and submitted in duplicate. The
style and lay-out should conform with usage in this or recent issues of the Bulletin.

A contributor is entitled to 10 free offprints of the pages of the Bulletin in which his
contribution, if one page or more in length, appears. Additional offprints or offprints of
contributions of less than one page may be ordered when the manuscript is submitted and
will be charged for. Authors may be charged for proof corrections for which they are
responsible.

BACK NUMBERS OF THE BULLETIN

Available on application to the Hon. Treasurer, as below (Vol. 93 onwards, 4
issues per year; Vols. 89-92, 6 issues per year; Vols. 89 and earlier, generally 9
issues per year): 1993 and after (Vols. 113 onwards) £4.50 each issue; 1983-92
(Vols. 103-112) £4 each issue; 1981-2 (Vols. 101 & 102) £3.50 each issue; 1980
(Vol. 100) No. 1 £4.50, Nos. 2,3 & 4 £2.50 each issue; 1973—9 (Vols. 93-99) £2.50
each issue; 1969-72 (Vols. 89-92) £2 each issue; 1929-68 (Vols. 50-88) £1.20 each
issue; Vol. 49 and before £2.50 each issue.

Indices: Vol. 70 and after £1.50 each; Vols. 50-69 £2.50 each; Vol. 49 and
before £6 each.

Long runs (10 years or more) for Vol. 50 and after are available at reduced rates
on enquiry. Postage and packing extra. Orders over £50 post free. Special issue

Vol. 112A, 1992, in hardback, 300p, £32, inc. p&p.

MEMBERSHIP
Only Members of the British Ornithologists’ Union are eligible to join the
Club; applications should be sent to the Hon. Treasurer, as below, together with
the annual subscription (£8.50 or, if preferred, U.S. $22 for 1993, postage and
index free). Changes of address and any correspondence concerning membership
should be addressed to the Hon. Treasurer.

SUBSCRIPTION TO THE BULLETIN
The Bulletin (Vol. 113 onwards) may be purchased by non-members on pay-
ment of the annual subscription (£18 or, if preferred, U.S. $40 for 1993, postage
and index free). Applications should be sent to the Hon. Treasurer. Single issues
may be obtained as back numbers.

PAYMENTS TO HON. TREASURER

Payments should be sent to the Hon. Treasurer, S.J. Farnsworth, Hammerkop,
_ Frogmill, Hurley, Maidenhead, Berks SL6 5NL, U.K., or credited direct to the
_Club’s bank account—No. 10211540, Sort Code 200087, at Barclays Prime
_ Account, P.O. Box 125, Northampton NN1 1SO, U.K.., with confirmation to the
Hon. Treasurer. All payments are net and should be in Sterling if possible.
Payment in other currencies must include a further £3 for U.K. Bank Charges
(except for annual rates in U.S. Dollars which are inclusive).

CORRESPONDENCE
Correspondence about Club Meetings and on all other matters should go to
the Hon. Secretary, Mrs A. M. Moore, 1 Uppingham Road, Oakham, Rutland
| LE15 6JB, U.K.

CONTENTS

Page

CLUBNOTICES Meetings. 2.05. %.0...<. 208 ses se 65
PEARMAN, M. Some range extensions and five species new to

Colombia, with notes on some scarce or little known species.. 66
BUDEN,D.W. Geographic variation in the Scaly-breasted Thrasher

Margarops fuscus with descriptions of three new subspecies... 75
VUILLEUMIER, F., CAPPARELLA, A. P. & LAZO, I. ‘Two notable bird

records from Chilean Patagonia... .. 4.002). 00: eee 85

ALSTROM, P. & MILD, K. ‘The taxonomic status of Anthus bertheloti. 88

WHITTAKER, A. Notes on the behaviour of the Crimson Fruitcrow
Haematoderus militaris near Manaus, Brazil, with the first

nesting record for this species’. ..'. 24... 4.4.) oe eee 93
WALTERS, M. On the status of the Christmas Island sandpiper,

Aechmorhynchus cancellatus......2..- 24-4 454) oe eee 97
RAHBEK, C., BLOCH, H., POULSEN, M. K. & RASMUSSEN, J. F. Avian body

weights from southern Ecuador 325. °3.4---- 4-1 eee 103

BEST, B. J., CLARKE, C. T., CHECKER, M., BROOM, A. L., THEWLIS, R. M.,
DUCKWORTH, W. & MCNAB, A. Distributional records, natural
history notes, and conservation of some poorly known birds

from southwestern Ecuador and northwestern Peru......... 108
PARKES, K. C. ‘The name of the Ecuadorean subspecies of the

Chestnut-collared Swallow Hirundo rufocollaris ............ 119
FJELDSA, J. Phrygilus coracinus Sclater, 1891, is avalid taxon ..... 121

In Brief PARKES, K. C. Distributional errors in ‘““The birds of
La Plata Island, Ecuador’”’ (Ortiz-Crespo & Agnew
1992) 127,

BOOK RECEIVED: oes Gan SRY Se ook ee ee eee 128

The Bulletin is despatched from the printers on publication and is sent by Surface Saver
Postal Services to all European destinations outside the U.K. and by Air Saver Postal Services
to destinations outside Europe. Those whose subscriptions have not been received by the
beginning of a month of publication will have their copies despatched by surface mail, after
their current subscription has been paid.

COMMITTEE
D. Griffin (Chairman) (1993) Revd T. W. Gladwin (Vice-Chairman) (1993)
Dr D. W. Snow (Editor) (1991) S.J. Farnsworth ( Treasurer ) (1990)
Mrs A. M. Moore (Hon. Secretary) (1989) Cdr M. B. Casement, OBE, RN (1990)
Dr J. F. Monk (1991) Dr R. A. Cheke (1991)

R. E. F. Peal (1993)

Printed on acid-free paper.

Published by the BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB and printed by
Henry Ling Ltd., at the Dorset Press, Dorchester, Dorset

7 | ISSN 0007-1595
Biev Bulletin of the

British Ornithologists’ Club

Edited by
Dr D.W. SNOW

Volume113 No.3 September 1993

FORTHCOMING MEETINGS

Tuesday, 19 October 1993. Dr Clive Mann will speak on
“Bornean Birds’’. Dr Mann, who has spent 10 years in Borneo, will
present an overview of the avifauna there. He will discuss its origins and
describe some of its specialities. He is presently working on the BOU
Checklist of the birds of Borneo.

Those wishing to attend are asked to notify the Hon. Secretary by
Tuesday, 5 October 1993*.

Tuesday, 2 November 1993. Rod Martins will speak on ‘““‘Where
are the limits of the Western Palearctic?’’. Rod Martins has been a
Council member of OSME since 1986 and was a member of the 1985
OSME Expedition to North Yemen. He 1s editor of Turkey Bird Report
and has a particular interest in the status and distribution of birds in the
Middle East.

Those wishing to attend are asked to notify the Hon. Secretary by
Tuesday, 19 October 1993*.

Tuesday, 7 December 1993. John Fanshawe will speak on
BirdLife research and conservation in the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest
in East Africa. John Fanshawe is a Project Manager for BirdLife Inter-
national (ICBP). He has just completed 3 years in Kenya and will present
work undertaken in Arabuko-Sokoke. He is working on his doctorate, on
the consequences of habitat modification for forest birds.

Those wishing to attend are asked to notify the Hon. Secretary by
Tuesday, 23 November 1993*.

Tuesday, 18 January 1994. John Burton will show some films of
ornithological interest which he has retrieved from the National
Film Archive (B.F.I.).

Tuesday, 22 February 1994. Martin Woodcock will speak about 3
Tropical Forests—a montane and a lowland forest in East Africa
and a montane forest in West Africa.

Meetings are held in the Sherfield Building of Imperial College, South
Kensington, London at 6.15 p.m. for 7 p.m. A map showing Imperial
College will be sent to members on request.

*Late acceptances and cancellations can usually be taken up to the
Thursday morning preceding a meeting, although members are asked to
accept by 14 days beforehand as arrangements for meetings have to be
confirmed with Imperial College well in advance.

If you accept and subsequently find you are unable to attend please notify
the Hon. Secretary, 1 Uppingham Road, Oakham, Rutland LE15 67B
(tel. 0572 722788) as soon as possible as the booking can often be offered to

another member.

129 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

Bulletin of the
BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB

Vol. 113 No. 3 Published: 30 September 1993

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The Annual General Meeting of the British Ornithologists’ Club was
held in the Ante-room of the Sherfield Building, Imperial College,
London SW7 on Tuesday 18 May 1993 at 6p.m. Mr R.E.F. Peal was
in the Chair. 19 members were present.

The Minutes of the 1992 Annual General Meeting, which had been
published (Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 112: 137-138), were approved and
signed by the Chairman.

The Report of the Committee for 1992, which had been published in
the Bulletin, was presented. The Accounts for 1992 were circulated at
the meeting. The Honorary Treasurer said that the drop in interest
rates had reduced the income of the Club. The sale of the freehold
property was now complete and the proceeds had been invested. In the
Centenary Year two extra publications, Birds, Discovery and
Conservation and the Bulletin Volume 112A, had been produced.

The Honorary Secretary proposed, seconded by the Vice-chairman,
that the Report and Accounts for 1992 should be adopted. This was
carried unanimously.

The Editor said that because of financial restraints there might have
to be some reduction in the number of pages in each issue of the
Bulletin. It was hoped to maintain a publication delay of not more than
1 year. There had been a slight drop in the number of submissions in
the last few months and the present position was theréfore satisfactory.
Recently there had been a concentration of papers on the Neotropics,
and the Bulletin was well known in America as the journal where
important data on Neotropical ornithology were published; but he
hoped that it would be possible to restore a more balanced geographical
coverage.

The Chairman said that the Bulletin had been picked out by the
American Museum staff at the last I.O.C. for its presentation of new
species, and this was a tribute to the editorship, previously of Dr James
Monk and now of Dr David Snow. He felt sure that representations for
more space would be as indulgently received as possible.

There being no additional nominations, the following were declared
elected:

Chairman; D. Griffin (vice R. E. F. Peal)
Vice-chairman; The Reverend T. W. Gladwin (vice D. Griffin)
Hon. Secretary; Mrs A. M. Moore (re-elected)
Hon. Treasurer; S. J. Farnsworth (re-elected)
Committee; R. E. F. Peal (vice the Reverend T. W. Gladwin)

Meetings 130 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

In announcing these elections the Chairman asked to be recorded his
thanks to the Hon.Secretary for her most efficient administration., He
expressed his gratitude to Mr Griffin for having generously stood aside
for him to be Chairman for the last four years and his appreciation of the
work of the Editors, Dr Monk and Dr Snow, and of the Hon.Treasurers,
Mrs Bradley and Mr Farnsworth, during his term of office.

No other business had been notified in accordance with Rule 12.

The meeting closed at 6.15 p.m.

The eight hundred and twenty-ninth meeting of the club was held after the Annual
General Meeting on Tuesday, 18 May 1993 in the Ante-room, Sherfield Building,
Imperial College, at 6.15 p.m. 30 Members and 23 Guests attended.

Members attending were: D. GRIFFIN (Chairman), M. A. Apcock, Dr J. R. ADLER,
Mrs D. BrabD.ey, P. J. BULL, D. R. CALDER, Dr M. CarsweE._, Professor R. CHANDLER,
Dr R. A. CHEKE, J. H. ELcoop, S. J. FARNSwortTnu, A. Gipss, Revd T. W. GLapwin, B.
Gray, C. A. R. HeLm, M. C. JENNINGS, Ms R.-M. Jones, R. KETTLE, Dr J. F. Monk,
D. J. Montirer, Mrs A. M. Moores, R. G. Morean, P. J. OLiver, R. E. F. Peat, Dr N.
SKINNER, Dr D. W. Snow, N. H. F. Stone, Professor W. E. Waters, C. E. WHEELER,
M. W. Woopcock.

Guests attending were: Dr A. Lewis (Speaker), Mrs B. Apcock, Miss J. ALEXANDER,
K. BLUNDELL, Mrs M. Bui, Mrs J. CaLper, Mrs F. FaRNsworTu, J. Gitsy, Mrs J.
GLapwin, Mrs S. GrRiFFIN, J. B. HEIGHAM, A. J. HoLcomse, Mrs A. J. HoLtcomse, Mrs
D. Monk, Mrs M. Montirr, P. J. Moore, Mrs A. Nason, Mrs E. PEAL, A. ROBERTSON,
D. RusseELL, Dr C. RyaL_, R. Wess, Mrs B. Woopcock.

' After supper Dr Monk paid tribute to Mr Peal who had retired at the end of his term
of office as Chairman for the past 4 years. Dr Monk said that, as Chairman and as
Honorary Secretary for 18 years before that, Mr Peal had given quite outstanding service
to the Club. When he had first taken office the membership and the finances of the Club
had been in decline and it was largely due to his unstinting work that both are in such
good health today. He presented Mr Peal with a watercolour of a Wryneck Fynx torquilla
by Mr Robert Gillmor, commissioned by past and present members of the Committee of
the Club to mark Mr Peal’s retirement.

The address was given by Dr Adrian Lewis on the compilation of the Kenya Bird
Atlas. With an area about twice that of the U.K. and some 1070 bird species,
comparatively few of which are vagrants, Kenya’s avifauna is one of the richest in Africa.
This richness derives from Kenya’s intense habitat diversity, coupled with its location at
the junction of several of the Afrotropical Region’s major avifaunal realms. The project to
atlas Kenya’s bird species ran from 1981 to 1989 and involved more than 200 active
observers, as well as collecting data from published sources, nest record cards and |
museum collections. These records were plotted onto a quarter square degree (QSD) ©
geographical grid for the periods prior and subsequent to 1 January 1970 and statistically —
analysed for correlation with such factors as altitude, rainfall, a moisture index, and also
water body and vegetation types. |

The degree of coverage that the study achieved was assessed in two ways. A multiple ©
linear-regression was used to estimate the maximum number of species to be expected in |
each QSD. This regression takes into account the altitudinal variation, the types of water
body and the observer effort present within a square, and is highly significant statistically.
Division of the species total recorded for a square by its predicted maximum yields a
percentage that reflects the thoroughness with which the square’s avifauna has been —
covered. Secondly, the completeness of each species’ map is assessed by its DC numbers.
D stands for Detectability which, on a scale of 0 to 3, indicates the ease with which the |
bird may be detected and identified e.g. Common Bulbul=3, small members of
Indicator=0. C stands for Coverage which, on a similar scale, signifies the estimated
coverage achieved of the species’ range, e.g. the maps of rare/skulking species or those _
inhabiting infrequently visited areas have low C numbers.

The atlas project was a success (a) because the contributors’ enthusiasm and drive
were kept at high levels by personal (never duplicated) correspondence, and by frequent _
progress reports; and (b) because the details of the ranges of most of Kenya’s birds are |
apparent at the relatively coarse QSD scale. |

The Chairman’s Address 131 Bull, B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

THE CHAIRMAN’S ADDRESS
(given at the meeting of the Club on 27 April 1993)

BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB 1968-1992

I spoke three years ago on ‘“‘Progress of the Club in the last 50 years”’
(Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 110: 114-121). I happen to have been on the
Committee since 1969 and I am going now to deal with some aspects of
the Club’s evolution in the last 25 years not covered to an appreciable
extent then.

In 1969, the Chairman, Dr James Monk, was one year into his
three-year term of office, as was Sir Hugh Elliott, the vice-Chairman. J.
J. Yealland, the Editor, had been elected in 1961 to take office on 1 June
the next year and under the Rules this was for a five-year term only.
The passage of time apparently passed unnoticed as he was still in office
in 1968, when he told the Committee that he wished to retire at the end
of that year, later agreeing to continue for a further three months.

The Club had had a crisis in 1950/1951, when meetings were
flourishing but the Bulletin had almost faded out: it was revived by a
new Editor, Dr Jeffery Harrison, who changed the nature of its content.
In 1968 attendances at meetings had fallen 38% in the previous 4 years
and that year there were fewer than 20 people at three of the eight Club
meetings. The Bulletin had nine issues a year, most of 16 pages with
about six papers an issue, chiefly on apparently minor taxonomic
matters; it was for reference in libraries rather than something one read.
It looked dull and it was. It needed a change. Some “‘senior members”’
considered that the small number of members who attended meetings
were saddled with responsibility for publication of the Bulletin and
suggested that there might be insufficient material to justify its
publication at all. Suggestions were that publication of the Bulletin
should cease or that it should become the joint responsibility of the
Club and the B.O.U., the Club’s assets being put at the disposal of the
B.O.U. towards the costs of the Bulletin; in either case the Club would
continue to hold meetings.

The Chairman, Dr Monk, recognized that action was needed and a
memorandum and questionnaire were sent to members in September
1968, about 55 being returned. About two-thirds wanted negotiation
with the B.O.U. about the Bulletin and one-third that the Bulletin
should continue as it was. Over half would remain members if there
were no Bulletin. ‘There was no consensus on whether the number of
meetings should be maintained or reduced. There were questions.
asking members if they would be willing to serve as Secretary,
Treasurer or Editor and there were nine willing to be Editor (including
C. W. Benson). As for me, I replied that I was not willing to take office
in the Club—which confirms my experience in life: don’t trouble to
volunteer for a hot seat—if it is the will of God that you shall be in it,
you ll end up in it just the same.

The subject was then discussed at the Club meeting the next month,
attended by 19 members and 3 guests, which continued until
10.10 p.m. Dr Monk’s file is in the Club’s archives and he concluded
that there was no clear call for the Club to discard the Bulletin but a

The Chairman’s Address 132 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

firm suggestion that it should be published about six times a year and
meetings probably likewise; also that there was a general dissatisfaction
with price and standard of dinners at the Rembrandt. Decisions were
taken accordingly; each of the six Bulletin issues was to have 32 or fewer
pages, meetings were to be held six times a year, not at the Rembrandt,
alternately dinners and suppers. ‘The Committee’s first choice as Editor
was C. M. N. White (in Zambia) but it was Con Benson whom they
nominated. He was elected at the 1969 A.G.M. and proved an excellent
Editor, experienced both in field and museum. The objection to the
Rembrandt, other than to the price (not recorded, but £1.25 in 1965),
was to noise from functions in adjoining rooms and from the kitchen.
The evening of the 1969 A.G.M., at which I was elected to the
Committee, was our last at the Rembrandt and we then normally met,
with dinner, at the Criterion.

At the 1971 A.G.M. Sir Hugh Elliott was elected Chairman, J. H.
Elgood as Vice-Chairman, and I as Hon. Secretary. The next meet-
ing, in June at the Cafe Royal, was the first I arranged and cost £1.50+
12, % service for our customary three courses and coffee. The Criterion
closed soon after we met there in May 1972 and our meetings were then
all held at the Cafe Royal, which was under the same ownership. They
agreed to continue the Criterion price of £1.75 (+VAT, when it came
into force) although their minimum was otherwise £2. Exceptionally,
in July 1974 we went to Imperial College, where we had two speakers
in a lecture theatre, one before and one after a buffet supper in the
Senior Common Room costing £1.82. To go there was the suggestion
of Dr Amicia Melland, Administrative Secretary of the B.O.U., and we
were vouched for by Dr T. J. Seller. In July 1975 either the West End
was more prosperous or money falling in value particularly fast, as the
Cafe Royal minimum charge was raised almost 50% and the cheapest
wine to £3 a bottle. The hunt was on for alternatives and we repaired to
Imperial College for the second half of that year. However, small
numbers counted against us as Imperial College expected a normal

minimum of 25 and an absolute minimum of 20. So we then alternated |

between there, for meetings at which our larger numbers were |

expected, and a private room at the ‘“‘Goat”’ in Stafford Street, W1 for —
others, especially if no slides were to be shown. The “‘Goat’’ was |

cheaper but it would only hold 35 to 40 with a very considerable ©
squeeze and no slide projection and 10 fewer if there were slides. |

Gradually numbers rose and we last met at the “‘Goat’’ in July 1979,
after that having all meetings at Imperial College in the Senior
Common Room, Prince’s Gardens. In 1981-1983 prices there rose 55%

and numbers at meetings fell, so in 1984 we twice had suppers, a new |
option then, £2 or more cheaper than a three course dinner. In 1986 the |
Senior Common Room in Prince’s Gardens had been closed and we

moved to Sherfield Building.

When we met at the Rembrandt, our projectors and screen were kept |
between meetings at the Natural History Museum and we employed a |

projectionist to operate them. One blessing of meeting at a West End

restaurant was that they stored our screen and the “‘Goat’’ provided one |
for our use there. However, the Hon. Secretary always had to carry our |

The Chairman’s Address 133 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

projector to and from meetings and Mrs B. P. Hall very kindly gave the
Club £100 when we left the Rembrandt with which to buy a new
projector that was much lighter than its predecessor and superior in
use. Imperial College stored neither projector nor screen, so I had to
convey both to and from meetings there. Happily, in November 1979,
when I had just moved to Sevenoaks, Mrs Diana Bradley, the Hon.
Treasurer, kindly offered to transport them to and from meetings until
early 1989, when Dr R. J. Chandler, to whom we are most grateful,
arranged to store them for us at Imperial College.

My predecessor as Chairman, Revd G. K. McCulloch, in September
1988 reintroduced Short Communications at meetings before the main
speaker. However, in 1990 there was a request by a senior member for
meetings to finish by 9p.m. instead of by 9.30 or 9.45 as was
customary. That would have involved cutting heavily the time for
speakers, let alone questions, but trying to finish as early as practicable
did mean cutting out Short Communications; but that is a step which
can be reviewed, if desired.

The changes from nine numbers of the Bulletin a year to six in 1969
and then to four in 1973 have been excellent. The size of the Bulletin
was fixed in 1972 at 172 pages plus 4 for the Report and Accounts,
which had for the previous four years been published as a separate
broadsheet, an unfortunate break in the Club’s published records. In
1970, to save £9 a year, the Bulletin covers for the whole year were
printed in a single operation, almost certainly the poorest piece of
economy the Club has ever adopted, as it meant that the date and
number of each issue were not on the cover (nor could the list of
Committee members be updated). In 1975 the number of pages was
reduced to 144, but by 1981 improvement in the Club’s finances made
an increase possible. It was decided in 1987, after long negotiations, to
transfer printing of the Bulletin to Henry Ling Limited despite good
relations for many years with Caxton & Holmesdale Press, as for 192
pages a year there was a saving of 24% (£1360) annually. From
Vol. 112A and Vol. 113 No. 1 the Bulletin has been printed on acid-free
paper, a change not previously announced.

The Rules were reprinted in the Bulletin Index for 1982, the first
time for 23 years. The many changes made to them over the years had
made them read very awkwardly in places and it was decided to replace
them with a new set of Rules. Committee members had many ideas of
what they wanted but after the Chairman, Revd G. K. McCulloch,
using his knowledge as a barrister, and I had produced a final draft in
the light of views expressed and the need for clarity, unanimity was
achieved and the new set of Rules was approved at the A.G.M. in 1988.

A list of Club members, with addresses, had been published in the
Bulletin Index annually up to Vol. 69 (1948-1949) and then in Vols 74
and 79. The need for it arose again, because the B.O.U. ceased after
1982 to publish a list of members. The production of one by the Club
after a long gap proved, as the B.O.U. was finding, a major work, but
Mrs Bradley and I produced a current list for publication in the Index
to Vol. 107 (1987). As annual production greatly eases the work, and it
is of considerable value, a corrected list has been published every year

The Chairman’s Address 134 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

since. A List of Contents has been printed on the outside back cover of
each number of the Bulletin from 1982, a great benefit to readers. The
Bulletin mailing list was put by Mrs Bradley on her computer in 1985,
and from March 1986 she supplied the printers with gummed labels,
thereby eliminating a source of errors.

There have been many changes since 1928 in the provision of free
copies to authors of papers, some authorized, some not. From 1964 to
1969 they were given 30 free copies of the entire Bulletin in which their
paper appeared. As the print run was a constant number, probably 900
copies, if a large number were needed for authors there were few left
for stock. By 1971 Sir Hugh Elliott was finding that we were running
out of some issues of the 1960s and we reprinted as necessary. As there
was a demand for earlier issues, including many out of print, we have
since then reprinted very many and now have all volumes in stock back
to Vol. 33 (1913-1914) and several earlier ones. The promotion of
membership and of Bulletin sales, both current subscriptions and back
numbers, has been a continuing operation, especially for the last 20
years. As it is a general experience that scientific journal subscriptions
are falling at around 2% a year, it is a matter of having to run to stay
still. ‘Thus our (non-member) subscribers peaked in 1981 at 194 and
were 147 last year. ‘The Club has in the past set a single rate for
subscribers, but as membership is open only to B.O.U. members, there
is a case for considering different rates for individual and for
institutional subscribers, as a number of other societies do.

The home of Herbert Stevens at Tring, bequeathed conditionally to
the Club in 1964, became available with vacant possession in April
1991. ‘The house with some of the garden was sold in September 1991
for £70,000 and the rest of the land in June 1992 for £79,000. Steps
were taken at the 1992 A.G.M. for the appointment of trustees to hold

TABLE 1
Summary of statistics, British Onithologists’ Club

O52 Fe Lome 1992

No. of members 191 229 594
Attendances at meetings 491 138 463
No. of B.O.U. members I25, 1634 1789
No. of non-member subscribers 65 c.80 147
Bulletin:

No. of pages 118 190 312

Cost per page £ 293) 52/6 39.32
Member’s subscription

UG 1.05 2.50 8.50

SwFr 12.80 24.90 18.75

US$ 2.95 6.38 12.83
Retail prices 1.00 2.06 26.84

The figures for foreign currencies and for retail prices are
for December in the respective years

Accounts 135 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

the net proceeds of the property and contents, for investment with a
view to maintenance of the real value of the fund in the long term, and
a corresponding income to the Club.

Table 1 gives some figures concerning the Club for 1971 and 1992,
together with 1952 to show a longer span, and I close with comparisons
of 1971 (when I became Hon. Secretary) with 1992. Membership has
more than doubled and, what is more, the proportion of B.O.U.
members that belong to the Club—and they are our only source of
members—has risen from 1 in 7 to 1 in 3. Attendances at meetings have
risen by 3+ times, rather more than the rate of increase in the Club
membership. Bulletin pages published in the year (excluding
Vol. 112A) are up 1.6 times but the mean cost per page has risen nearly
7; times—it about trebled in the six years from 1971 to 1977, and
compares with a rise in the retail price index of 13 times from 1971 to
1993. Non-member subscribers are nearly double the number that
there were then and the cost of a member’s subscription in a hard
currency, e.g. Swiss Francs, is less than it was in 1971.

British Ornithologists’ Club
Income and Expenditure accounts for the year ended 31 December 1992

1992 1991
£ £ £ £
INCOME
Subscriptions received
ING GETS cece ACE Ae REESE EEE REE Ee eee EERE ere corn rere cease eee 5,040 3,610
2,738 2,433
= (13)
7,778 6,030
Donations received 17 143
Investment income
Stevens Bequest Fund:
(CAO 225) Bo tec eta cette COR CE CECEE SERS ECCECEE RES PEECE FEE SE SCRE PEPE EERE Pree 10,227 2,101
Barrington Trust Fund (COIF Income Shares)....................c-0seeeeeeeees 33 32
Interest received:
ISALCIAYS SEEING GAN CCOUN Gee -ccc crac coe ere rrcset oor c er enee enero eee a en inbnes 313 618
Barclays Prime (Centenary) Account.............::ccccccccccseeeseeeeecesseeeeees 97 os
Lloyds High Interest Cheque Account ieee _ a2)
COTESD epositvA CcOUn basses. cece esiec cca ac teresa te oe etna ea ene Seton eats 33222 4,032
13,892 6,835
Property
Clovelly—Rent....... aH — 585
Insurance refund a 17
Capitalisation of Legal Fees arising in 1989
and LO90ireiplanningipermissiomces-eeeceteeeiee errr e ae oe 2,143 _
2,143 602
Income Tax recovered
By CEA Ofi COV emlAant cise 2c.8-.o sce bene as traces ee ne eres 45d a 324 221
Bulletin back numbers
A espen see eer rae aan ty etalon be es MN ear odo BEML bE LAL 126 206
MESS A CISETIDUCION | COSTS 2220 cae eta eee e ete ee ee A (15) (30)
111 176

Cost of sales (Bulletin)

Werte ot stock Meese yor ee cate ce ses Neen al a Nios be DIB de (100) (100)
ME TesS te oy SEC eras sane re ee ed NN al asl OB ee be Sos ol aire la) 100 100

Accounts 136

Less: Restaurant charges
Speakers? expenses/NOtices' €tc ...:..2s.seccccccssveseececccccessecoccescedecesees

Centenary Dinner
TTICOMME HRC een noe tears ee eee ee soe ote a cease cea rah soduser teeta enone ce MER ec oN TR roe
Less: Restaurant/hall hire....
IN OUICES OCC irene csstccassccecsSecclecesescethcn suvcasuveccerovcussesseniastr one ence tenes

Less: Opening stock ...
Purchasesjeeeiccesstesteste cess ste cecen caaiensececee etueees ite eshan she ceeeee teseeetetee
Closing stock sisiireccccn cs scesccee cere eee aaa Tee ee eee nde tee
INoticesrete se eee ee Ee Oe Se aS ee,

EXPENDITURE

Bulletin BOC
Bublicationgandiprintingstesteccrtc tt cctreec ce enctren re cctae tent ana c ee neenn
‘Additional offprints (Separates) sec 25) cc-icscucesee ee Sec oes seek cea ee cece es

[sess:|@ fiprintisales: ct tec eee cere sete tener ra eect aane ea earns Cement cate ere
‘Authors;:contributions tere ee or eRe We eacaucbace ck ba setets

E-ditor:sPhomorariumsse ccscccecce eta recon eee east eee de coaches oe dacseece tee teecten teas
Editorial and secretarial expenses py2ei-!o. 12.608 ccestteee ec lececee noscevestectecseies
Address labels
Rosta pene ee sce cnet ace tare ce ece cao ence e cae ees Ten ee ee a ne aes

Special Centenary Issue Vol 112A
Publication ands printing eo.c-sesssosceccconcostscccneesoeetacen scat erosteceaenec eee santeecees
‘Additionalloffprints(separates)jcoc ose ccssos escent ee

Wess:Sales\(excludingyoffprints) ices ccecusstecaccee rece tecteneee seta des secon cues
Offprintisales ree eee a eee eee ee le duende natal ada ws oso

Editorialliexpensesy i iiciiiccvcteccacc creer tose ae eet tr eae eat eae ee
Notices etc
1 C0 0 een Sen BEC EEE ECORI EES EE ES ECEEECSCLCCEEEEC EEE SEC AOELEEE PREC HER RECHAELIE DEH

Contribution to ‘‘Birds, Discovery and Conservation”
Bublicationtand printing ircciscctccss eaten cca caen corer corer aoa ar nea ea cee eae
Mees Gales twine le Rios. Sercatcca, Moen nN ahha etal nee RANE See cSnU Lee NEON

Notices. ...2 ere he ae en ON Ear aee aoe tetee
IROSta ge recess cecwcegsstesenec oes anne hse ua lage Cau eetea ere ae eae ar eee

Projection equipment—depreciation.................2ssececcceceseseseseececconceessceesee
Sound equipments... .c.ccvece ss sasesvee eee ee seca case e eee ae eee eee ee

Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

1992

(565)

(729)

270

23,241

1991

£

2,992
(2,817)
(252)

£

(147)

(636)

13,224

patie

Eee

Accounts 137

1992
£ £
Committee Administration
TOSI hoc ccocc SoS SCE EER OEE CRE OC EE REC EE SESEE P EERE Rtn REN SE SS ASHER 330
te 676
369
1,375
MRTSHF EAI COS Hee tooo os Sw oasis cane dansa weet cence tee Meacauen bs batecWae acta ecbduabanteuseece 50
Accountancy..... Ross 967
Bank charges ............. ete 55
Credit card charges.... aa 124
MesSeel AM COU seer esac ceo c esac ecoe eerste ae ccee acta ce cacccccceseceseesteticcetcstcntsnss 124
1,320
Total expenditure 26,952
Excess of Expenditure over Income ........................c..e2eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetes (3,711)
British Ornithologists’ Club
Balance Sheet as at 31 December 1992
1992
£ £
General Fund
Ballancerat lp anuaryyl 992 pesos cece ee nna eek a ee ee ee cee 33,228
Less: Excess of expenditure Over income ..............2:2.ccccccecsseesseseeeeaneees (3,711)
Balance at 31 December 1992 29,517
Barrington Trust Fund
Balance at 1 January 1992 & at 31 December 1992 577
Stevens Bequest Fund
ealavicevatuly) ANUATY 1 992). corcccsssessscocecocesovcestecctcccecessett ote teet ence Ree 157,747
(Loss)/Profit on sale of Freehold Property....2........::::ccccccccceeeseeceeeeeeees (12,730)
pratero ta hattels—— NE tr secs sescce ves soos tastsasdl hae iasseadshontevadecsesiascesei dsiees: —
Balance at 31 December 1992 145,017
175,111
Represented by:
Barrington Trust Fund Investment
Charity Fund 111.57 COIF Income shares.................cesse0ececceeeeeeees 577
Stevens Bequest Fund Investment
nreehold: Property (Building! Plots) <-.-...-csce-se--seeceze-ccssesevetescesnoeancee _—
PO TESING Sy ACCOUM Es: seercersectoree. eve ceeeei elie eee es eae TEL 145,017
145,017
Fixed Assets
Projection Equipment 90

Current Assets
BIS RAL ELSUIIELIING oto ser oa ee eae ee ace 100
Stock of Ties

TASS ET, TREC bs a ee oe a DT ee ee, Sy ee ae ae 13
Cash at Bank
Bacclayay erie vACCOUNC Hs ti. r a tise ee Oe 17,837
—Barclays Prime (Centenary) Account... ate 132
—Lloyds Current Account............. eo 23
Et Ost Otice! Giro ACCOUNT. rei riirtioicestetee eee 116

Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

1991
& &

428
514
118
250
1,310
90
646
18
11
95
860

12,199

1,025

1991
& &

32,203
1,025

33,228

577
92,568
62,668
2,511

157,747

191,552

577
85,000
72,485

157,485

100
100
300
44
6,007
2

Accounts 138 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

1992 1991
£ £ £ £
Cash at Bank continued
—— (0 OTD epositvAccOUNti sca ceceonssnsensnsessecssssencssensmssvesdeanearrres Sesroon 19,195 35,564
oe CO) DEMIN O) ZRACCOUNT iss cocsan sateen cvaawacececconsussvedsiawcimeneslecuonsesaeedemaen 14,429 —-
Sundrys Debtors pe ecccnceccvac tens eaten ccencenn cet enters cetierven sencenteesennreeseensy 26 291
51,871 42,345
Current Liabilities
Subscriptions received in advance
IVI EMM DELS ea eerel sceccontenenes terete ncaa etecen eset er seecisesee inedscenuseaecaceces 1,686 1,998
—-Non=member Subscribers). sees. ov ccsercccosscactesseececsccecsterceacetaccewss 1,723 1,404
——IMembersmli992 refund eres eeececcanscstnanccceces-cdaeeraneedeceeerscicanedenecats 17) _
Sundry A@reditorsteccseecsveccsdssccttsctevecstetectoccesdeecstesten soe davsorsecusevenes tres 19,018 5,553
(22,444) (8,955)
175,111 191,552

AUDITORS’ REPORT
To the Members of
BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB
We have audited the financial statements in accordance with Auditing Standards.
In our opinion the financial statements give a true and fair view of the state of the
Charity’s affairs at 31 December 1992 and of its Income and Expenditure for the year

then ended.

Prince Albert House

20 King Street DONALD REID & CO.,
Maidenhead, Berks Registered Auditors
18 May 1993

Approved by the Committee on 18 May 1993
R. E. F. PEAL, Chairman

P. A. Gregory & G. R. Fohnston 139 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

Birds of the cold tropics: Dokfuma, Star
Mountains, New Guinea

by P. A. Gregory & G. R. Johnston

Received 24 Fune 1992

Introduction

Altitude is the most important ecological sorting mechanism acting upon
the New Guinean avifauna (Diamond 1972). It is surprising, therefore,
that relatively little has been published about the birds occurring at very
high altitudes in alpine and subalpine habitats (Smith 1980). High-
altitude bird communities are known to be depauperate (Diamond 1972),
but are of particular interest because they occur in highly discontinuous
habitats which harbour relictual populations of several species. The low
diversity of these communities is reflected in very coarse niche differences
between taxa; the few species in any high-altitude avian community
generally belong to different genera or even families (Diamond 1972).
Indeed, hitherto, no more than two congeners were definitely known
to coexist at the same altitude above 2000m. This contrasts with the
situation below 1000 m where 4 to 8 congeners may exist in sympatry.

Dokfuma is a subalpine herbfield situated on the southern slopes of
Mount Capella in the Star Mountains (5°01'S, 141°07’E) in the West
Sepik Province at an altitude of 3200 m. The herbfield has developed in a
frost hollow with gentle slopes and is approximately two square kilo-
metres in area. The valley floor is covered by a dense mat of ferns, with
small stands of tree ferns and stunted Rhododendron shrubs. The margins
of the valley support an open Dacrycarpus woodland. Phyllocladus,
Papuacedrus and Schefflera are common in this woodland. In sheltered
areas there are stands of dense, extremely mossy, Upper Montane Forest
(Paijmans 1976). The region is uninhabited by humans but is crossed by
the Busilmin-Tabubil walking trail.

Despite extensive early field work on birds in the Snow Mountains
(Archbold et al. 1942) and the Victor Emmanuel and Hindenberg Ranges
(Gilliard & LeCroy 1960) no ornithologist appears to have visited
Dokfuma. The area was visited in April 1987 by a team of mammalogists
and herpetologists from the Australian Museum (Flannery 1987) who
made opportunistic observations on birds and reported MacGregor’s
Bird of Paradise Macgregoria pulchra and the Western Alpine Mannikin
Lonchura montana, the latter for the first time in Papua New Guinea.

Dokfuma is of particular ornithological interest as it is close to the
eastern limit of several bird species known to occur in nearby Irian
Jaya, but not yet known from Papua New Guinea (Beehler et al. 1986,
Coates 1990). Furthermore, the only locality at which more than two high-
altitude congeneric species have been reported to occur in sympatry is on
the northern slopes of the Snow Mountains (Diamond 1972). If three
congeners do occur together in the Snow Mountains, one might expect this
situation at Dokfuma also, for reasons of geographic proximity.

P. A. Gregory & G. R. Johnston 140 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

We visited Dokfuma between 16 and 19 November 1991 and camped at
the same site as the 1987 Australian Museum expedition (GR158463, Ok
Tedi 1:100,000 map sheet 7187). During our stay weather conditions

varied from complete fog to a clear sky. Temperatures varied from 1°C at _
night to 18°C by day. This paper outlines our observations on the birds of —

the area based on 45 hours of observations by two observers.

Systematic list

SNIPE Gallinago sp.

Six snipe were flushed from a patch of long grass in the valley on 17
November. They were still present on 18 November. A scaap call was
given. This was the only migratory bird seen at Dokfuma and appeared to
be same as the snipe seen in Tabubil a few days prior to our visit to
Dokfuma. This is presumably Swinhoe’s Snipe G. megala.

WHISKERED LORIKEET Oreopsittacus arfaki

A flock of three flew overhead at the northern end of the valley on 16
November. Quiet tszt calls revealed 4 birds feeding in a fruiting Schefflera
sp. on the afternoon of 17 November. Two flew over a waterfall at the west
end of the valley on the 18th.

FAN-TAILED CUCKOO Cacomantis flabelliformis
Heard calling daily. One observed on 17 November.

MOUNTAIN SWIFTLET Collocalia hirundinacea
Frequently seen over the open herbfields. Assumed to be this species on
the basis of altitude.

GLOSSY SWIFTLET Collocalia esculenta
Frequently seen over the shallow tree-lined gullies which ran into

Dokfuma herbfield.

ALPINE PIPIT Anthus gutturalis

A pair of birds building a nest in the valley; carrying grass strands into
longish grass. Perched on tree ferns, and often foraged down in their flat
crowns. Observed in the company of Western Alpine Mannikins on
several occasions.

HOODED CUCKOO-SHRIKE Coracina longicauda
A pair of birds were observed to fly across a shallow gully at the
northern end of the valley and alight on the edge of the open woodland.

ISLAND THRUSH Turdus poliocephalus

Adults were frequently observed along the forest edge. A juvenile bird |

was observed on western edge of the valley on 16 November.

NEW GUINEA THORNBILL Acanthiza murina

A very inquisitive species which investigated ‘squeaking’ and gave |
excellent views. Several were seen either in small flocks or in pairs, giving |

P. A. Gregory & G. R. Johnston 141 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

a noisy, high-pitched, sibilant twittering call; also a buzzy, high-pitched
chwee shtup shtup song from mid canopy.

DIMORPHIC FANTAIL Rhipidura brachyrhyncha

A pair observed in association with Lorentz’s Whistlers on 17
November at the northern end of the valley in moss forest at the edge of a
deep doline (sink-hole). A female in scrub forest behind camp on the same
date.

MOUNTAIN ROBIN Petroica bivittata

Two small black and white robins with a high-pitched see-see-see-see
call, perching high in trees. White underparts; black chin and throat. One
individual seemed to have a black chin, whereas the other had black on
throat as well. Black above with a small white wing-bar. One bird may
have had a tiny white loral spot, the other lacked it. A considerable range
extension, filling an apparent gap between Snow Mountains and central
highlands populations.

LORENTZ’S WHISTLER Pachycephala lorentzi

Two birds on forest edge in late afternoon on 16 November. One indi-
vidual with grey head, olive mantle, whitish chin, throat and chest,
greyish belly and a pale yellow undertail area only. This bird appeared to
be an immature, and was associated with a second, clearly an adult with
grey head, white chin, throat and chest with greyish pectoral band; olive
green mantle, wings and tail; underparts rich yellow; bill small, fine, dark;
eyes and legs dark. Another pair of adults in open forest at the western
edge of the valley on 16 November. Quite tame, responded well to
‘squeaking’; rather robin-like. A group of three observed on the 17th at
the northern end of the valley in moss forest on the edge of a doline. One of
these was an immature with similar coloration to that described above.
The presumed immature plumage is not listed in either Coates (1990) or
Beehler et al. (1986). Occurred in the mid stratum of moss forest or tops of
saplings in clearings.

BLACK SITTELLA Daphoenositta miranda

A noisy twittering flock of 15 low down in bushes on 17 November.
Female with dull, pinky-red forehead, chin and undertail; eyes and legs
yellow. A pair observed on the 18th ina gully to the east of camp, high ina
tree. Another flock of five birds flew from low vegetation (2 m) high into
the canopy of a tree on the 18th.

CRESTED BERRYPECKER Paramythia montium

This species proved to be quite common, skulking around in bushes,
and was generally fairly confiding. Call a nasal zek. One was observed
high in trees from camp on most days.

RED-COLLARED MYZOMELA Myzomela rosenbergit

Two males observed on 17 November, and three males on the 18th. A
single bird called continuously from an exposed branch east of camp on
the 18th, a very high-pitched, prolonged ts7. A noisy, canopy frequenting
species.

P. A. Gregory & G. R. Johnston 142 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

BLACK-THROATED HONEYEATER Lichenostomus subfrenatus

‘The most conspicuous species found at Dokfuma, calling and singing
noisily. Adults were observed feeding fledglings on 16 November. Indi-
vidual birds appeared to have two main calls. The one most often uttered
was a complicated, tuneful series of whistles, which could be heard from
some distance away. While feeding young or disturbed by observers a
harsh churring sound was produced. A noisy, bubbling song, rising and
falling in pitch, was often given by several birds together. Loud, harsh wit
calls were given when near the juvenile.

SOOTY MELIDECTES Melidectes fuscus

A blackish melidectes in undergrowth, lacking a beard; tail not cocked;
not mottled beneath, and had a blueish-white patch behind the eye, which |
was more extensive than that of M. nouhuyst. 'Two individuals seen on 17
November.

SHORT-BEARDED MELIDECTES Melidectes nouhuysi

Not uncommon along forest margins, low down in fringing vegetation.
A large blackish honeyeater with a long slightly down-curved, dark bill,
rather longer than shown by Beehler et al. (1986) and a prominent, forked,
white beard, often standing out from neck, not reaching anywhere near |
the bend of the wing. Mottled paler on belly and under tail; small, golden
yellow skin patch behind eye. Tail often flicked-up at 45 degrees. Keeping
to bushy scrub mostly. Call a metallic pwzk and a thin weet-weet flight- |
note. Chased by the smaller, more aggressive Black-throated Honeyeater |
right up into the canopy on one occasion. |

BELFORD’S MELIDECTES MVelidectes belfordi
A noisy melidectes heard calling at the southern end of the herbfield
was presumably Belford’s at this altitude.

WESTERN ALPINE MANNIKIN Lonchura montana
Eight adults near an old camp on the western side of the valley, and two ©
later sightings each of two adults further down the meadow. Fairly tame. |
Often seemed to be found with the Alpine Pipit. Call a monotonous tyu
series.

MOUNTAIN FIRETAIL Oreostruthus fuliginosus
A female above the old camp on the western side of the valley on 17 |
November was the sole sighting.

MACGREGOR’S BIRD OF PARADISE Macgregoria pulchra

At least one pair was seen on several occasions in forest at the southern
end of the valley. They seemed to have a territory about 1 km long and a |
few hundred metres wide, as they continually flew up a ridge then came
over the top and back down onto lower slopes. On one occasion one of this |
pair chased another, third individual from this area. Wing noise in flight
was reminiscent of a duck at close range and was audible over a distance of
several hundred metres. Strange nyeh nyeh nyeh call. Observed several
times with green berries in bill. Legs whitish and stood out from black of |

P. A. Gregory & G. R. Fohnston 143 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

=
> 25
ee
w
a
fe)
= 20
a
1)
ea)
a
ONE
o)
ra
Fs
s lo
=)
z
ea]
a
>.
=|
5
rane
3 0 1 2 3 4 5

NUMBER OF OBSERVATION DAYS

Figure 1. Cumulative number of bird species observed over a four-day period at Dokfuma,
West Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea.

body, unlike illustrations (Beehler et al. 1986, Plate 54). The facial
wattle of one bird was brilliant sunset orange on one day. On the following
day a bird was observed with an intense, but duller, yellow facial wattle.
We suspect that this variation may have occurred in one individual, in
which case it may be analogous to the colour changes in the facial wattle
of the Smoky Honeyeater Melipotes fumigatus, and requires further
observation.

Discussion

A total of 22 species of birds in 16 families were observed or heard over
four days at Dokfuma. While there are some species which might be
expected to occur at this locality but were not observed (e.g. Archbold’s
Owlet Nightjar Aegotheles archboldi), this figure compares well with the
complexity of bird communities found in other areas of high altitude in
eastern Papua New Guinea (Diamond 1972, Beehler et al. 1987). A plot of
the cumulative number of species observed over the four days shows a
distinct plateau, suggesting that this list is reasonably complete (Fig. 1).
Most families were represented by one species at Dokfuma. This
pattern of taxonomic diversity presumably reflects the coarse pattern of

P. A. Gregory & G. R. Fohnston 144 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

niche difference found in other high-altitude bird communities (Diamond
1972). The notable exception to this was the five species of honeyeaters
(Meliphagidae). This reflects the enormous radiation of this family in the
Australopapuan region.

The Red-collared Myzomela Myzomela rosenbergii and Black-throated
Honeyeater Lichenostomus subfrenatus are widespread high-altitude
forms and were not unexpected at Dokfuma. The co-existence of three
species of Melidectes, which are all of similar size (Beehler et al. 1986), is of
special interest. It confirms that more than two species within this genus
can live in sympatry at high altitude. This has been reported only once
previously, from the Snow Mountains in Irian Jaya, and is contrary to the
general pattern that only two species occur together over most of New
Guinea (Diamond 1972).

The occurrence of the Short-bearded Melidectes Melidectes nouhuysi at
Dokfuma is particularly noteworthy as it is the first record of this species
from Papua New Guinea. Previously M. nouhuysi was known only from
the Snow Mountains. The birds observed at Dokfuma had a slightly
longer ‘beard’ than illustrated for this species by Beehler et al. (1986).
The possibility, therefore, exists that this population represents a form
intermediate between M. nouhuysi and the closely related Long-bearded
Melidectes VM. princeps.

Flannery & Seri (1990) noted that the Upper Montane mammalian
fauna in the West Sepik Province contains many species distributed in
western New Guinea, all of which have closely related populations to the
east. This pattern occurs among some of the birds found at Dokfuma,
viz. Mountain Robin Petroica bivittata, MacGregor’s Bird of Paradise
Macgregoria pulchra, Western Alpine Mannikin Lonchura montana and
Short-bearded Melidectes Melidectes nouhuysi. ‘The occurrence of these
species at Dokfuma reduces the distance isolating the eastern and western
populations or species pairs. One clear inference from this is that more
survey work between the Dokfuma-Telefomin area and Mount Hagen is
needed to determine whether there are populations of high-aititude bird
species linking eastern highlands populations with those of the Star and
Snow Mountains.

Summary

‘Twenty-two species of bird are listed as occurring at Dokfuma, a subalpine herbfield in
West Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea, at an altitude of 3200 m. One of these, Melidectes
nouhuysi, is reported from Papua New Guinea for the first time. Three species of Melidectes
occur in sympatry at Dokfuma, whereas only two species of this genus occur together in
most high altitude habitats. The occurrence of several species at Dokfuma reduces the
distance between closely related populations, previously known from the Snow Mountains
in Irian Jaya, to the west, and the eastern highlands of Papua New Guinea.

Acknowledgements

Rob Lachlan, Steve Richards and Karoli accompanied us in the field. Murray Eagle and
Ross Smith (Environment Department, Ok Tedi Mining Company Ltd) provided logistic
support and transport by helicopter. Mike Bull passed comments on the manuscript.

References: :

Archbold, R., Rand, A. L. & Brass, L. J. 1942. Results of the Archbold Expeditions. No. 41.
Summary of the 1938-1939 New Guinea Expedition. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 79:
197-288.

R. Walters 145 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

Beehler, B. M., Pratt, T. K. & Zimmermann, D. A. 1986. The Birds of New Guinea.
Princeton Univ. Press.

Coates, B. J. 1990. The Birds of Papua New Guinea. Vol 2. Passerines. Dove Publications.

Diamond, J. M. 1972. Avifauna of the Eastern Highlands of New Guinea. Nuttall Orn. Club
Publication no. 12.

Flannery, T. F. 1987. Journey to the Stars. Australian Nat. Hist. 22: 244-249.

Flannery, T. F. & Seri, L. 1990. The mammals of southern West Sepik Province, Papua
New Guinea: their distribution, zoogeography, human use and abundance. Records of
the Ausralian Museum 42: 173-208.

Gilliard, E. T. & LeCroy, M. 1960. Birds of the Victor Emmanuel and Hindenberg
Mountains, New Guinea. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 123: 1-186.

Paijmans K. (ed.) 1976. New Guinea Vegetation. Australian National University Press,

Canberra.
Smith, J. M. B. 1980. Ecology of the high mountains of New Guinea. Pp. 111-132 7m P. Van
Royen (ed.), The Alpine Flora of New Guinea. Vol 1. General Part. Cramer, Germany.

Addresses: Phil Gregory, P.O. Box 69, Tabubil, Western Province, Papua New Guinea.
Greg Johnston, School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University of South Australia,
G.P.O. Box 2100, Adelaide 5001, Australia.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

Some records of birds from Belize, Central
America, including three first records

by R. Walters
Received 29 Fune 1992

Russell’s (1964) monograph has for many years been the standard work
on the avifauna of Belize, formally British Honduras. Further infor-
mation is contained in Barlow et al. (1969, 1970, 1972), Erickson (1977),
Kiff & Kiff (1974) and Wood & Leberman (1987). An annotated checklist
(Scott Wood et al. 1986) gives brief distributional and abundance details
of all species known to have occurred in Belize up to the end of 1985.

Whilst researching the history of banding in Belize, I also found
several significant records, which pre-date the checklist. I found a later
occurrence of one species, which I repeat here as the publication in which
it is recorded has a limited distribution. Except where stated, all instances
of banding were carried out by W. P. Nickell. Nickell was an experienced
bander, with considerable experience in the northern Neotropics. He
took part in six expeditions to Belize between 1960 and 1965 (Nickell
1968).

To eliminate the possibility of input error, all computer records
were verified against the original banding schedules. Sequence and
nomenclature follow A. O. U. (1983).

NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL Glaucidium gnoma
This species is not listed by Russell (1964) or Scott Wood et al. (1986).
A single individual of this species was banded at San Antonio, Cayo

District, on 24 February 1960. On 8 March 1986, a Royal Air Force

R. Walters 146 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

Ornithological Society expedition netted and banded another near
Guacamallo Bridge, approximately 24 km south of San Antonio (Counsell
1988). In Guatemala this owl is recorded as an uncommon resident of pine
and oak woodland in the highlands, ranging down into the sub-tropics
(Land 1970). In Honduras it is reported as an uncommon resident of
highland pine and cloud forest (Monroe 1968). The areas where both
individuals were trapped in Belize fall within the Mountain Pine Ridge,
an area of highland pine forest. In view of the Guatemala and Honduras
records, the occurrence of this species in Belize as a rare resident should
not be unexpected.

WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE Contopus sordidulus

Scott Wood et al. (1986) list this species as accidental, with one pre-
vious record (Russell 1964: 122; a specimen collected at Orange walk in
December 1881). An individual of this species was banded at Stann Creek
on 15 March 1960.

CASSIN’S KINGBIRD Tyrannus vociferans

Two banded at Stann Creek on 9 March 1960, one banded at Melinda
Forestry Station on 6 March 1961, one banded on 9 March 1962 at Silver
City, Stann Creek District. I can find no trace of this last locality. In
addition to the above, I banded a single Cassin’s Kingbird near Ladyville,
Belize District, on 9 April 1985. Scott Wood et al. (1986) list this species
as an accidental, with one record. The only published record prior to 1986
is one on the Christmas Bird Count for Belize City area, on 26 December
1985 (American Birds 40 (1986): 1024).

WESTERN KINGBIRD Tyrannus verticalis

One banded 11 miles west of Stann Creek on 16 April 1963. This
species has not been previously reported from Belize. Monroe (1968)
states that the Western Kingbird is a rare transient in the Caribbean
lowlands of Honduras, and that there are sight records from the Swan
Islands.

GREY KINGBIRD Tyrannus dominicensis

One banded E1 Cayo (San Ignacio) on 22 March 1960, another at
Middlesex on 26 March 1963. Monroe (1968) lists it as a rare migrant to
the Swan Islands, and probably the northern coast of Honduras. The only
previous published records for Belize are by Howell et al. (1992).

HUTTON’S VIREO Vireo huttoni

Wood et al. (1986) list this species as a rare (less than five records)
permanent resident of the Mountain Pine Ridge. Russell (1964) mentions
only one record, a specimen from the Mountain Pine Ridge taken on 26
April 1888. Nickell banded two individuals of this species, one on 22
March 1963 and another on 19 March 1964. On these dates he was
working in the Stann Creek Valley, between the coast at Dangriga and
Middlesex. These records extend the geographical distribution of this
species into the Southern Hardwood Forest.

Acknowledgement

I wish to thank Danny Bystrak of the Bird Banding Laboratory, United States Department
of the Interior, for verifying the computer records against the originals.

M. Louette & P. Herroelen 147 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

References:

American Ornithologists’ Union 1983. Checklist of North American Birds, 6th ed. American
Ornithologists’ Union, Washington, D.C.

Barlow, J. C., Dick, J. A., Baldwin, D. H. & Davis, R. A. 1969. New records of birds from
British Honduras. Jbzs 111: 399-402.

Barlow, J. C., Dick, J. A. & Prendergast, E. 1970. Additional records of birds from British
Honduras (Belize). Condor 72: 371-372.

Barlow, J. C., Dick, J. A., Weyer, D. & Young W. F. 1972. New records of birds from
British Honduras (Belize) including a skua. Condor 74: 486-487.

Counsell, D. 1988. The RAFOS Expedition to Belize Feb-Mar 1986. R. A. F. Orn. Soc.
Journal 18: 17-63.

Erickson, R. 1977. First record of the Knot Caladris canutus, and other records, from Belize
(British Honduras). Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 97: 78-81.

Howell, S. N. G., Dowell, B. A., James, D. A., Behrstock, R. A. & Robbins, C.S. 1992. Bull.
Brit. Orn. Cl. 112: 235-244.

Kiff, L. F. & Kiff J. L. 1974. First specimen of Reddish Egret from British Honduras. Auk
91: 170-171.

Land, H. C. 1970. Birds of Guatemala. Livingston Publishing Co.

Monroe B. L., Jr. 1968. A distributional survey of the birds of Honduras. Orn. Monogr.
no. 7, American Ornithologists’ Union.

Nickell, W. P. 1968. Return of northern migrants to tropical winter quarters and banded
birds recovered in the United States. Bird- Banding 39: 107-116.

Russell, S. M. 1964. A distributional study of the birds of British Honduras. Orn. Monogr.
no. 1. American Ornithologists’ Union.

Wood, D.S., Leberman, R. C. & Weyer D. 1986. Checklist of the birds of Belize. Carnegie
Mus. Nat. Hist. Special Publ. 12.

Wood, D.S. & Leberman, R. C. 1987. Results of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Expeditions to Belize. III. Distributional notes on the birds of Belize. Ann. Carnegie
Mus. 56: 137-160.

Address: R. Walters, Morskade 18, 2332 GB Leiden, Netherlands.
© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

Status of migratory Cuculus cuckoos in Zaire

by Michel Louette GS Paul Herroelen
Received 3 Fuly 1992

Basing ourselves on the collections in the Royal Museum for Central
Africa, Tervuren (KMMA), the Royal Institute of Natural Sciences,
Brussels (KBIN) and the British Museum (Natural History), Tring
(BMNH), we have found that some points regarding the status of
migratory Cuculus cuckoos in Zaire need clarification.

Cuculus canorus

According to Seel (1984), the Cuckoo evacuates the northern
hemisphere virtually completely in December-January. This would
imply that the northwestern African-Iberian race bangsi crosses the
Equator (and reaches Zaire); this population 1 is small, both in size and in
number. Vaurie (1965) gave as range in wing chord measurements for
bangsi males 203-217 mm against 218-233 mm in nominate canorus, and
we find on average females in all races smaller than males.

M. Louette S P. Herroelen 148 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

TABLE 1
Number of specimens of Cuculus canorus
from Rwanda, Burundi and Zaire in

KMMA
Month 1st Winter Adult
August 0 1
September 6* +
October 11* 6*
November 7 Q***
December 2** 0
January 0 4
February 6 Sm
March 12* 22*
April 5 2
May 1 0)

* almost exclusively in the eastern part of
the region
** in the south of Zaire

*** 1 in KBIN

The hypothesis of evacuation of the northern hemisphere is not contra-
dicted by the monthly pattern of specimens in KMMA (Schouteden
1950, augmented by several then considered as C. gularis; Table 1). Adult
birds proceed southwards before first-winter birds, but all Cuckoos
apparently pass Zaire. However, we must investigate the possibility that
some Cuckoos, most likely (the whole population of) bangsi, remain to
winter in western Africa. Field observations may not all be reliable,
because of possible confusion with the very similar C. gularis. Checklists
published after Seel’s revision for Ivory Coast (Thiollay 1985), Ghana
(Grimes 1987) and Mount Nimba (Colston & Curry-Lindahl 1986; the
BMNH holds the six specimens, mostly moulting first-year birds from
December-January, with wing chords 193-206 mm) suggest wintering
there, which was already accepted by Moreau (1972). Farther to the east,
in Nigeria (Elgood 1982), Cameroon (Louette 1981), Gabon (Brosset &
Erard 1986) and Central African Republic (Carroll 1988), the Cuckoo is
very rare or unrecorded. One bird in BMNH is small and referable to
bangsi—a first-year female, 29 October 1910, Bitye, Cameroon; wing
185 mm—but there is also a midwinter ringing recovery from Cameroon
of a British bird (definitely not bangsz). Only one bird in Zaire, the hepatic
KMMA specimen taken at Bobito (Ubangi) on 15 January 1959 (and
present there already for some days according to the collector), is remark-
able in its presence that far north in midwinter, no other Cuckoo ever
having been taken in this region, where Herroelen, Maes and others made
quite substantial observations (but there are two autumn birds from
Boende and Yalokele, not far to the south), suggesting either very rapid
overflying of this general area or another route.

According to Moreau (1972), the autumn passage is over a broad front
in Africa but the spring passage is especially remarkable in the east.
Verheyen (1951), however, suggested that the birds enter western Europe

M. Louette & P. Herroelen 149 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

in spring from the southwest. Seel’s (1984) findings are not in conflict
with either of these assumptions. Large birds (which cannot be bangsz)
indeed pass through North Africa and Iberia in late spring (specimens 1n
BMNH: 10 females, wing chord 190—207mm, mean 200.6 mm; two
males, over 220 mm).

Herroelen (1983) suggested that the birds taken in eastern Zaire were
not bangsi but possibly subtelephonus, a race supposedly present in eastern
Africa as well (Meinertzhagen 1937, Britton 1980). The determination of
an individual to subspecies is tricky, some rather small birds having been
caught as far north as Belgium (Herroelen measured an adult female with
wing chord only 193 mm) and the supposed differences given by Vaurie
(1965), Mackworth-Praed & Grant (1970) and Cramp (1985) are hardly
useful. Pending further evidence therefore, we do not yet admit bangs to
the list of Zaire contrary to what could be inferred from Seel (1984) and
Cramp (1985).

Incidentally, Payne (1977a) demonstrated that the immature of this
species is browner in general colour—and has brown or rufous in the
primaries and wing coverts—than the immature of C. gularis, which is
greyish, always without brown (in Fry et al. 1988, hereafter called Birds of
Africa, a brownish juvenile is illustrated as C. gularis!).

Cuculus poliocephalus/rochi

The Lesser Cuckoo C. poliocephalus, a migrant to eastern Africa from
Asia, is as yet unknown from Zaire: if it occurred, it could be dis-
tinguished from the Madagascar Cuckoo C. rochii by its hepatic females
and smaller size (maximum wing chord 162 mm; mean of 10 males from
Indiain BMNH 154.5 mm), and by its presence in Africa later in the year,
the first recorded date being 26 November, in T'anzania (Becking 1988).

There are in fact more Madagascar Cuckoos from Zaire than were
known to Becking: the KMMA holds 9 specimens, dated June (2), July
(3), August (1), September (2), October (1); 5 from Kivu, 4 from Kasai. In
the KBIN, there are two. One is the type of Cuculus stormsi Dubois 1887
(with a nice illustration), from ““Tanganyka’’, undated, with wing chord
measurements of 165 and 168 mm; this name a junior synonym of rochi1.
The other one, from Shinkulu, Upemba (Verheyen 1953), collected on 26
November 1947, is an adult male with wing chord 162.5mm, but
measured on a worn feather (when fresh, it might well have been 3 mm
longer). This is very late in the season. In Madagascar, Rand (1936) had a
specimen “‘ready to lay’? in mid-August and Milon (1959) found the
species present from September onwards, and “en plein chant’’ October
to December. Milon studied breeding and proved it to occur from
November to April. The period of occurrence in Zaire is therefore
extended and overlaps with the early arrivals in Madagascar. The states of
moult of the adult rochii specimens from Zaire are as follows: 2 with active
moult (July), 5 with interrupted moult in wings and tail (June to August)
and 3 with no moult (September to November), a pattern in accordance
with their migration.

Some birds from Zaire are rusty on the neck (contra Becking). This
may correspond to the female as given for the Lesser Cuckoo in Birds of
Africa, but Langrand (1990) says ‘“‘sexes similar’? for the Madagascar

M. Louette & P. Herroelen 150 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

Cuckoo, and a bird with brown feathers on the neck is depicted therein as
‘immature’, confirmed by the description. There is one immature in the
KMMA collection (119766 from Idjwi Island in Lake Kivu, August): all
juvenile feathers are with narrow white fringes as in C. solitarius or polio-
cephalus; very few tawny fringes are present on head, neck and mantle.

Cuculus clamosus

The Black Cuckoo is variable in plumage in Zaire. Both the red-
breasted race gabonensis and the almost black nominate race are present.
Chapin (1939) postulated that the forest phenotype is surrounded by a
savanna phenotype with interbreeding along all zones of contacts yield-
ing intermediates (‘jacksoni’, ‘mabirae’) which are nothing more than
gabonensis/clamosus hybrids. ‘There are a few birds of the c. clamosus
phenotype (which can be barred to some extent; it is not necessarily
completely black) in the collection from northern Zaire, dated January
(2), April, June, July (2), September (2) and November. Such birds, in
breeding condition, are also known from west of Zaire: there are two from
Nigeria (November) and one female from Powo, Cameroon, September
(BMNH material). Therefore, the supposed migration of southern c.
clamosus towards Nigeria and further west (Curry-Lindahl 1981), if it
exists at all, does not seem to involve birds in northern Zaire. What
happens in the west? ‘The BMNH has blackish birds from West Africa
from the months January (1), March (1), April (1), May (3), June (2), July
(2), September (1). Completely black birds, on the other hand, have been
found in southern Zaire only in the months October (1), February (4),
March (1, plus 3 fledglings), April (2), May (1 fledgling). This group may
contain some migrants from further south. The species breeds in South
Africa from September to April; but very young birds from Zaire were
collected in the months March (5), May (3), July (2), August (2), October
(1), exactly the opposite season. A juvenile from Kwango (October) could
belong to either race.

Among the 75 males, 23 females and 15 unsexed in KMMA, there are
only the following in active moult: northern area of Zaire (number: moult
scores, following Ashmole 1962): September (2:7 and 49), October (1:46,
adjacent Cameroon), November (1:7), January (2:4 and 44); southern
area: February (1:8), March (1:8), April (2:4 and 11). Moult timing is
thus different for the birds collected in these two areas, suggesting that
different populations are involved.

C. c. gabonensis is very close in plumage to the Red-chested Cuckoo C.
solitarius, but in view of the very different juvenile plumage it seems
unlikely that the two species are close relatives, as claimed in Birds of
Africa. The statement that C. clamosus has a “‘rather slender build”’ is
misleading; clamosus is in fact a heavier bird than solitarius for about the
same wing length (weights given in Birds of Africa itself; Herroelen
weighed live clamosus: 75, 93 and 94 g; Verheyen (1953) gives 66 and 74—
81 g for 8 male solitarius. As a specimen, the Black Cuckoo looks more
thick-set. The juvenile plumage of solitarius is very different, and close
to that of the other African breeding Cuculus (gularis) and some of the
oriental species. Probably the divergent juvenile plumage of clamosus has
a mimetic function (cf. Payne 1977b).

M. Louette & P. Herroelen 151 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

The “immature”? Black Cuckoo C. c. gabonensis illustrated in Birds of
Africa, with whitish tips to the rectrices, reddish breast and barred belly,
is in fact an adult bird. The young of this species is jet-black in all races,
the tail being uniformly black (as mentioned correctly by Chapin (1939),
Friedmann (1948) and Snow (1978), and illustrated for C. c. clamosus. Its
first moult yields the adult pattern, including the coloured and barred
parts on the ventral side and the white-tipped rectrices. A typical adult of
gabonensis is much more reddish on the breast than the other specimen
illustrated in Birds of Africa. In gabonensis the examples with unbarred
red breast are usually considered to be the males, whereas those with
blackish and pale barring in the reddish breast are considered to be the
females; but BMNH specimens sexed by Serle from Nigeria show that
males can have a banded breast.

It seems that in the adult female solitarius the reddish brown on the
breast is paler than in the male, in fact the opposite tendency to that in
poliocephalus, rochit, and indeed canorus, in which the female is more
brownish than the male.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Michael Walters at the BM/NH and to Jacques Fairon at the KBIN for
permission to examine specimens, and to the British Council, Brussels, for a travel grant to
Louette.

References:

Ashmole, N. P. 1962. The Black Noddy Anous tenuirostris on Ascension Island. Part I.
General Biology. [bis 103b: 235-273.

Becking, J. H. 1988. The taxonomic status of the Madagascar Cuckoo Cuculus (poliocephalus )
rochu and its occurrence on the African mainland, including southern Africa. Bull.
Brit. Orn. Cl. 108: 195-206.

Britton, P. L. (ed.) 1980. Birds of East Africa. EANHS, Nairobi.

Brosset, A. & Erard, C. 1986. Les Oiseaux des régions forestiéres du nord-est du Gabon. Société
Nationale de Protection de la Nature, Paris.

Carroll, R. W. 1988. Birds of the Central African Republic. Malimbus 10: 177-200.

Chapin, J. P. 1939. The Birds of the Belgian Congo. Part 2. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 75.

Colston P. R. & Curry-Lindahl, K. 1986. The Birds of Mount Nimba, Liberia. British
Museum (Natural History), London.

Cramp, S. (ed.) 1985. Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
The Birds of the western Palearctic. Vol. 4. Oxford Univ. Press.

Curry-Lindahl, K. 1981. Bird Migration in Africa. 2 Vols. Academic Press, London.

Dubois, A. 1887. Description de deux nouvelles espéces d’oiseaux. Bull. Mus. Hist. Nat.
Belg. 5: 1-4.

Elgood, J. H. 1982. The Birds of Nigeria. B.O.U. Checklist no. 4.

Friedmann, H. 1948. The Parasitic Cuckoos of Africa. Academy of Sciences, Washington,

c

Fry, C. H., Keith, S. & Urban, E. K. 1988. The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Academic Press.

Grimes, L. G. 1987. The Birds of Ghana. B.O.U. Checklist no. 9.

Herroelen, P. 1983. To what race belong small wintering Cuckoos (Cuculus canorus) in
Zaire? Rev. Zool. afr. 97: 861-866.

Langrand, O. 1990. Guide to the Birds of Madagascar. Yale Univ. Press.

Louette, M. 1981. The Birds of Cameroon. An annotated checklist. Verhandelingen
Koninklijke Academie voor Wetenschappen, Letteren en Schone Kunsten van Belgié.
Klasse der Wetenschappen, 43 (Nr. 163): 1-295.

Mackworth-Praed, C. W. & Grant, C. H. B. 1970. Birds of West-Central and Western
Africa. Vol. 1. Longman.

Meinertzhagen, R. 1937. Some notes on the birds of Kenya Colony, with special reference to
Mount Kenya. Ibis (14) 1: 731-760.

M. Louette & P. Herroelen 152 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

Milon, Ph. 1959. Sur la migration et la reproduction a Madagascar du Cuculus poliocephalus
rochiu. Ostrich Suppl. 3: 242-249.

Moreau, R. E. 1972. The Palaearctic-African Bird Migration Systems. Academic Press.

Payne, R. B. 1977a. Juvenile plumage of Cuculus canorus and Cuculus gularis in Africa. Bull.
Brit. Orn. Cl. 97: 48-53.

Payne, R. B. 1977b. The ecology of brood parasitism in birds. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 8: 1-28.

Rand, A. L. 1936. The distribution and habits of Madagascar Birds. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat.
Hist. 72: 143-499.

Schouteden, H. 1950. De Vogels van Belgisch-Congo en van Ruanda-Urundi. 3.
Columbiformes-Cuculiformes-Psittaciformes. Annls. Mus. Congo Belge, C. Zool. Sér.
4, Vol. 2 (3): 417-564.

Seel, D. C. 1984. Geographical distribution of the Cuckoo Cuculus canorus in the Western
Palaearctic and Afro-Tropical regions. Annls. Mus. R. Afrique Centr. Zool. 239: 1-44.

Snow, D. W. (ed.) 1978. An Atlas of Speciation in African Non-Passerine Birds. British
Museum (Natural History).

Thiollay, J. M. 1985. The Birds of Ivory Coast. Malimbus 7: 1-59.

Vaurie, C. 1965. The Birds of the Palearctic Fauna. Non-Passeriformes. Witherby.

Verheyen, R. K. 1951. Particularités relatives a la migration et au quartier d’hiver du
Coucou d’Europe. Gerfaut 41: 44-61.

Verheyen, R. K. 1953. Oiseaux, 7m Exploration du Parc national del’ Upemba. Mission G.F.
de Witte (1946-1949). Inst. Parcs Nat. Congo Belge 19: 1-687.

Address: Michel Louette and Paul Herroelen, Koninklyk Museum voor Midden-Afrika,
3080 Tervuren, Belgium.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

Notes on birds observed in beech (Fagus)
forests in the Maoershan Natural Reserve,
Guangxi Autonomous Region, China

by Francois Vuilleumter
Received 10 Fuly 1992

As part of long term research on the evolution of bird faunas in forests of
southern beeches (Nothofagus) (Vuilleumier 1985, Vuilleumier &
Kikkawa 1991), I also visited wet temperate forests in the northern
hemisphere, including northern beeches (Fagus), for comparative pur-
poses. Thus, between 9 and 11 June 1992 I studied the avifauna living in
and around beech (Fagus) forests in the Maoershan Natural Reserve
Area, Xing’an and Ziyuan Counties, Guangxi Autonomous Region,
People’s Republic of China. Even though my visit was brief, and
unfavourable circumstances (including prolonged travel on very bad
roads, and acute respiratory illness) prevented me from spending as
much time in the forests as I had originally planned, my notes might be
of interest because the avifauna of this forested area of southern China is
poorly known and may not have been visited by western ornithologists in
the recent past, if at all. The only published reports on the Maoershan
Natural Reserve that I am aware of are those of Li (1985, 1986) (which I
saw) and Zhang (1979) (which I did not see). I did not find reports
dealing with the avifauna of Maoershan or its forests.

ee

F. Vualleumier 153 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

Large and relatively undisturbed stands of beeches (Fagus
longipetiolata), mixed with other tree species, grow along the slopes of
the Maoershan Mountain Range in northern Guangxi Autonomous
Region, southern China, forming a distinct belt at altitudes from about
1300 to 1700 m. Higher up, other tree species, especially Symplocos sp.
(Styracaceae), are dominant. The botany of this large forested
watershed has been studied by Professor Li Guang-Zhao of the
Guangxi Institute of Botany (for general summaries see Li 1985, 1986),
who has made beautiful and very complete plant collections in the area,
now housed in the herbarium of the Laboratory for Plant Taxonomy of
the Guangxi Institute of Botany in Guilin, which I was kindly allowed
to study on 8 June 1992. Unfortunately, Professor Li’s list of plant taxa
for Maoershan Natural Reserve is still unpublished.

In contrast with Maoershan, the Yaoshan (or Dayaoshan, see 1991/92
Hallwag map “‘China Far East’’ at 1:6,000,000), an isolated mountain
range with its summit at 1979 m, found at 24°00’N, 110°03’E in central
Guangxi, about 240 km south of Maoershan, has been well explored
ornithologically (see Stresemann 1929a,b, 1930a—c, Yen 1933-34).
Unfortunately these reports give no botanical information about the
vegetation types in which the montane birds were collected. Mell
(1925a,b) described the botany and ornithology of montane forests of
three relatively low mountains in Guangdong (Kwangtung) Province,
west of Guangxi. The maximum altitude of these three ranges is about
1100 m (Mell 1925b: 163), just below the altitude at which Fagus appears
at Maoershan. Mell (1925b) mentioned a number of trees that are also
present in the montane forests of Maoershan (including the Fagaceae
Castanopsis and Lithocarpus), but not Fagus, which is therefore probably
absent from his study areas. Thus, unfortunately, Mell’s (1925b) impor-
tant paper cannot be used for direct comparisons with the montane
avifauna in the Fagus belt at Maoershan.

Description of study area

According to Professor Ma Yiqing (in litt.), Maoershan Natural Reserve
is one of four major regions where extensive forests of beech (Fagus spp.)
can still be found today in China. The other three areas are: (1)
Fanjinshan Natural Reserve at 27°54’N, 108°36’E in Yinjing County,
Guizhou Province, (2) Badagongshan Natural Reserve at 29°18’N,
110°06’E, in Sangzhi County, Hunan Province, and (3) Baba Forest
Area at 36°36’N, 106°54’E in Nanjiang County, Sichuan Province.
Much of the information below on the Maoershan area is taken from the
useful papers by Li (1985, 1986).

The Maoershan Natural Reserve forms a substantial part of the Maoershan Mountain
Range which contains 10 peaks above 2000 m elevation and whose summit, at 2142 m, is
the highest in Guangxi Autonomous Region. The Natural Reserve is located at
25°48’-25°58'N, 110°20’-110°35’E in Xing’an and Ziyuan Counties, Guangxi Autono-
mous Region, about 130 km by road NW of Guilin City. The area immediately below the
summit is covered by a complex of buildings used by the workers of the television station.
During my stay, with good weather, the view westward from the summit extended across
broad, shallow, and unforested cultivated valleys to an impressive series of mountain
ranges at the border between northern Guangxi and southern Hunan Province, several of
which probably reach above 2000 m, and most of which were totally deforested.

F. Vuilleumier 154 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

According to Li (1986) an access road was constructed and a television relay station
was built just under the summit of Maoershan in 1976. Shortly afterward the Guilin
District authorities officially declared about 7160 ha of the Maoershan Mountain Range a
Natural Reserve. In 1978 the area of the Reserve was enlarged to 15,300 ha. Heavy
logging had taken place before 1948 in the lower parts of what is now the Reserve.

The mission of the Reserve is several-fold. First it aims to protect the huge Maoershan
watershed, which is very important to the Guilin area, by preserving the forest cover of
the slopes and mountain-tops. Secondly the goal is to protect the forest ecosystem, and
especially several components of its animal and plant life, thus preserving a large pool of
genetic diversity. For example, the Reserve contains several plant species which are rare
and endangered in China. A third goal is to promote scientific research on the fauna and
flora. A final goal is to educate the people and to encourage them to appreciate the
importance of the forest resources of Maoershan.

Botanically, Maoershan is one of the richest and most diversified areas in Guangxi
with 1436 species of vascular plants, including 670 species of woody plants. This
diversity is due to the fact that the flora is rich in both subtropical and temperate zone
elements and also contains some tropical elements (Li 1986). The structure of the tree
community at Maoershan is complex. Between 4 and 6 and occasionally up to 8 species of
trees can be found in plots as small as 100 m? (Li 1986).

Geologically, Maoershan is composed mostly of pre-Devonian granite but also
includes sandstones and schists. The Maoershan range was uplifted during the Yanshen
Orogeny, between the Jurassic and the Cretaceous (Li 1986).

About 2100 mm of rain fall at Maoershan each year, especially during the rainy season
between February and June (Li 1986). During the three days of my visit in early June,
however, the weather was dry and sunny, with clear and cool mornings, hot and hazy
days, and clear and cool nights. Occasional fogs rolled up from the valleys east of
Maoershan toward the crests in the late afternoon of 9 and 10 June. According to Li
(1986) the relative humidity of the Maoershan area averages 80%, 9 months out of 12
having heavy cloud cover above 1000 m elevation. The whole region is well watered and
has about 45 streams, several waterfalls, and a number of springs (Li 1986).

The average annual temperature at the summit (2142 m) is 7°C (maximum 23°C,
minimum — 19°C). At 1200 m the average January temperature is 2.9°C, and the average
July temperature is 21.5°C (maximum 28.9°C, minimum -— 15°C). Even though
Maoershan is subtropical (Li 1986), frosts occur on average 105 days per year at the
summit.

The wide range of climatic conditions, especially temperature, encountered from the
bottom areas to the summit of Maoershan has resulted in clear-cut altitudinal zonation of
vegetation (Li 1986). The native vegetation (presumably forest) is completely gone from
the lower areas where intensive cultivation, mostly rice, is practised on terraces along the
valley slopes and in all valley bottoms (at about 600-700 m), where a dense human
population lives in numerous small villages, and where traditional southern Chinese life
still prevails. Water buffaloes are commonly used in the fields.

Above this lower zone, the mountain slopes are largely or completely deforested up to
about 1200m and covered either with dense, homogeneous, and extensive secondary
growth stands of tall bamboos (Phyllostachys), or with mixed vegetation including shrubs
(e.g. Rhus sp.) and small trees (e.g. Cunninghamia sp.) as well as bamboos.

Isolated Fagus longipetiolata trees start appearing above a narrow belt of deforested
grassy slopes, at about 1100 m. Beeches are abundant and conspicuous higher up and
form the main component of a distinct altitudinal zone from about 1300 to about 1700 m.
Li (1986) calls this zone ‘‘deciduous-evergreen broadleaf mixed forest’’. Beech trees grow
on very steep slopes, with an angle I estimated as 20°-50° (30°-40° according to Li 1986).
Other trees of the family Fagaceae occurring with Fagus to form the canopy include the
oaks Castanopsis and Lithocarpus. The understory, composed of shrubs (especially
Rhododendron spp.) and bamboo (especially Indosasa sp.), is dense, in places even
impenetrable. Working along such steep slopes in such dense vegetation was quite
difficult, and several times I was obliged to restrict my observations to roadside areas.
Within the Fagus belt individual beech (and other) trees are usually large and stately,
many reaching a height of about 20-30 m. I noticed that many tree trunks and branches
were covered with a thick growth of mosses, lichens and other epiphytic vegetation, thus
revealing the high moisture content of the atmosphere.

Above 1700 m, Fagus disappears, and the Fagus belt is replaced by a mixed forest that
includes 80% broadleaf trees as well as some evergreen conifers (especially conspicuous

F. Vuilleumier 155 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

are hemlocks, Tsuga sp.). One of the dominant taxa in this vegetation belt, which goes
from 1700 to 2000 m, is Symplocos sp. Li (1986) calls this forest “evergreen broadleaf and
evergreen broadleaf/needle leaf forest’. At these higher altitudes, the landscape is
different, the slopes less steep, but the forest is dense with a closed canopy and grows on
relatively shallow, often waterlogged and boggy soils. This montane area is characterized
by high winds and high humidity and many trees show a trend toward dwarfism. Many
trees, including gnarled Tsuga, are up to 250-300 years old (Li 1986).

The highest vegetation zone, found from mountain ridges at 2000 m to the summit, is
a dense brush and stunted forest. It includes many of the same species found at the lower
elevational belt, but they show a characteristic dwarf growth form (Li 1985, 1986).

Itinerary

9 Fune 1992. In spite of diligent attempts to leave Guilin early, I was not
able to do so until 12.00 because of delays in the necessary paperwork
prior to field work. The very bad conditions of roads in and immediately
around Guilin and in the approaches to Maoershan made the approxi-
mately 130 km drive an interminable 6+ hours. Thus only brief stops
could be made in the flat lowlands north of Guilin, in heavily cultivated
valleys at about 600-800 m, along deforested mountain slopes at 1000 m,
in the Fagus belt at 1500 m, and below the T'V station at 2200 m.

10 Fune 1992. I worked from 06.30 to 12.30 at about 1400-1600 m in
Fagus forests, then from 13.00 to 15.30 and from 17.00 to 19.30 at
1750-1950 m above the Fagus belt, in ridgetop forest dominated by
Symplocos sp.

11 Fune 1992. | worked from 06.30 to 07.30 at 1900 m in Symplocos
forest above the Fagus belt, then from 08.00 to 10.00 at about 1300 m in
Fagus forests. Occasional stops were made lower down (about
800-1000 m) and in cultivated valleys (about 600m) in the late
morning. | returned to Guilin by late afternoon, again on terrible roads.

Because of the fact that the TV station hostel at about 2200 m had a
locked gate at night, it was not possible to go out and work in Fagus or
Symplocos forests at night. Hence my observations do not include any
nocturnal species.

Annotated list species

Sequence and nomenclature follow, for convenience, Meyer de
Schauensee (1984). Birds marked with * were seen in the Fagus belt.

*EURASIAN HONEY BUZZARD Pernis ptilorhyncus (?)

Two birds flying over steep, deforested slopes at about 1200 m on
9 June at the lower edge of the Fagus belt, in mixed vegetation consisting
also of bamboos (Phyllostachys pubescens), scrub (Rhus chinensis), and
low trees (Cunninghamia lanceolata). Recorded from Yunnan and
Sichuan (Meyer de Schauensee 1984) but not Guangxi. However, Yen
(1933: 234) cited a November specimen from Guangxi, and Cheng
(1987) mentioned the species as a migrant from Guangxi. The two birds
were very similar in plumage, with dark blackish-brown underparts,
dark wing coverts, pale primaries and secondaries, tail long and rather
uniformly barred, with central tail feathers missing. I presume these two
birds were in juvenal plumage, and had recently fledged. Their calls
were high-pitched whistles.

F. Vuilleumier 156 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

CRESTED SERPENT EAGLE Spilornis cheela (?)

One dark brown bird, probably immature, flying low over
Symplocos-dominated forested ridge at about 1800 m on 9 June. Yen
(1933: 234) reported this species as resident at Yaoshan.

*ROCK PIGEON Columba livia
Uncommon in villages at 600—700 m in bottoms of densely cultivated
mountain valleys. Not cited by Yen (1933: 228-229) in his list of

Columbidae from Yaoshan and Guangxi.

*LARGE HAWK CUCKOO Cuculus sparverioides

Heard in Fagus forest at about 1500 m, 10 June 1992, between 07.00
and 09.00. Not common. Yen (1933: 616) stated that in Guangxi this
species was only found in Yaoshan.

*ORIENTAL CUCKOO Cuculus saturatus

Commonly heard in Fagus forest between about 1400 and 1600 m,
10 June 1992. Yen (1933: 615) found the species in April and May at
Yaoshan.

*LESSER CUCKOO Cuculus poliocephalus
Commonly heard in Fagus forest at about 1450-1500 m, 10 June
1992, between 07.00 and 10.00.

*PLAINTIVE CUCKOO Cacomantis merulinus (?)

Probably heard in Fagus forest at about 1300 m, 11 June 1992, at
about 08.00. Yen (1933: 617) stated that this species never visited the
Yaoshan.

*GREY-HEADED WOODPECKER Picus canus

One of two birds in relatively dense Fagus forest on steep slopes at
about 1500 m, 10 June 1992. The birds were foraging on tree-trunks
about half way up 25 m tall beech trees. Yen (1933: 621) stated that this
sedentary species was very common at Yaoshan. According to Cheng
(1987), it lives in “open evergreen forest mixed with bamboo in the
south.”

*GREY-CAPPED WOODPECKER Picoides canicapillus
Several birds foraging in the middle stratum of Fagus-dominated
forest between about 1400 and 1600 m, 10 June 1992.

BARN SWALLOW Hirundo rustica
Common in mountain valleys and along deforested valley slopes from

about 600 to about 1300 m, 9, 10 and 11 June 1992.

RED-RUMPED SWALLOW Hirundo daurica |
Common in villages at about 600-800 m in mountain valleys, 9 and

11 June 1992.

ASIAN HOUSE MARTIN Delichon dasypus

A colony of about 20 pairs had active nests under the eaves of one of |
the buildings of the TV station below the summit of Maoershan at about
2300 m on 10 and 11 June 1992. It was not seen lower down. Yen (1933:

:
|

F. Vuilleumier 157 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

756-757) stated that this species was sedentary at Yaoshan, found only
above 1500 m in rocky areas.

*GREY WAGTAIL Motacilla cinerea

One bird along the road in the Fagus belt area at about 1700 m, 10
June 1992. Cheng (1987) does not cite this species as breeding in
Guangxi. Called “‘winter visitor’? by Stresemann (1930a) at Yaoshan.
Yen (1934: 495) listed specimens from 21 April 1931 and 8 May 1929
from Yaoshan, commenting that “‘some individuals have been observed
and obtained in the summer, which proves that, among the numerous
migrants, some remain to breed’’.

WHITE WAGTAIL Motacilla alba
Commonly found along rocky streams from about 600 to about
1000 m in cultivated mountain valleys, 9 and 11 June 1992.

UPLAND PIPIT Anthus sylvanus (?)

One bird on a steep, grass-covered slope along the roadside at about
1000 m, 11 June 1992. Cheng (1987) cited this species from Yaoshan.
Yen (1934: 497) noted that it was “sedentary, but rather rare at
Yaoshan’’, and that “‘It was found only above 1000 meters altitude, in
large forests’’.

BLACK-WINGED CUCKOO-SHRIKE Coracina melaschista (?)

Several birds at 1800—2000m in tree-tops of ridgetop forest
dominated by Symplocos on 9 and 10 June. Yen (1934: 304) noted that
this species was “‘very common in the plains of Guanxi and at Yaoshan
during the warm season’’.

*SWINHOE'S MINIVET Pericrocotus cantonensis

One bird in Fagus forest at about 1500m on 10 June. Although
collected 14 April at Yaoshan, Stresemann (1930c) believed this species
to be a winter visitor there. But Yen (1934: 306) stated that it was
“common in March, April, May, and early June’’.

*GREY-CHINNED MINIVET Pericrocotus solarius

One male at about 1300 m in Fagus forest on 11 June, perched high up
on beech trees in relatively open forest. Cheng (1987) mentioned this
species from Yaoshan. Stresemann (1929a) and Yen (1934: 305) both

cited it from Yaoshan, where it was very common according to Yen.

*SCARLET MINIVET Pericrocotus flammeus

Several birds (males and females) in Fagus forest at about
1400-1500 m on 10 June, usually perched high up on tall beech trees.
This species is cited from Yaoshan by Cheng (1987). Yen (1934: 305)
found it sedentary, and ‘“‘rather common at Yaoshan from the base of
the mountain to an altitude of about 1500 meters’’.

COLLARED FINCH-BILLED BULBUL Spizixos semitorques

One or two birds singing from the top of 3-4 m tall shrubs in riverine
vegetation at 600 m in a cultivated mountain valley, 11 June. ‘“‘Rather
rare at Yaoshan”’ according to Yen (1934: 303).

F. Vuilleumier 158 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

LIGHT-VENTED BULBUL Pycnonotus sinensis
Several seen in riverine bushes along a valley floor at about 600 m,
11 June. Mentioned from Yaoshan by Cheng (1987).

*BLACK BULBUL Hypsipetes madagascariensis

One white-headed bird flying in the canopy of Fagus forest at about
1300 m, 11 June. According to Yen (1934: 298) this species is sedentary
at Yaoshan, where it is found higher up in summer than in winter.

ORANGE-BELLIED LEAFBIRD Chiloropsis hardwickit

One bird foraging under the canopy of Symplocos-dominated
vegetation at about 2000 m, 10 June 1992. Listed from “Yaoshan Mt.
and southwestern part” of Guangxi by Cheng (1987). “‘Sedentary and
common at Yaoshan’’ at about 1000 m, according to Yen (1934: 297).

PLUMBEOUS REDSTART Rhyacornis fuliginosus
One pair in riverbed area, 600 m, mountain valley, 11 June.

GREY BUSHCHAT Saxicola ferrea
One or two singing males, 9 June 1992, open area with buildings,
some abandoned, and miscellaneous scrubby growth, about 1100 m. A

tall TV relay antenna was a favourite song perch. “Sedentary and
common at Yaoshan’’ (Yen 1933: 767).

CHESTNUT-BELLIED ROCK THRUSH Monticola rufiventris

One immature male in the treetops of Symplocos-dominated
vegetation at about 2000 m, 10 June 1992. Dark blue wings and tail
(which was moved up and then down) were very conspicuous. Cheng
(1987) cited the species from Yaoshan. Yen (1933: 772-773) stated that
it is sedentary at Yaoshan, found mostly above 1500 m. “‘Contrarily to
most of its congeners, which live among rocks rather than in trees [this
species]. . .1s quite arboreal and goes to the ground only to search for
insects” (Yen 1934: 773).

GREY-WINGED BLACKBIRD Turdus boulboul

Common in Symplocos-dominated forest at 1800-2000 m below the
TV station, 9-11 June, especially active and singing in the early
morning and late afternoon. The song, rich and melodious, is quite
reminiscent of that of the common Blackbird T. merula. Ali (1977)
called the song “‘rich, fluty, far-carrying: of remarkable variety and
mellowness and perhaps one of our finest bird songs.’ Cheng (1987)
cited this species as “‘rare’’ from Yaoshan (subspecies yaoschanensis).
Yen (1933: 773), who had earlier described T. boulboul yaoschanensis,
stated that it has never been found below 700 m, and lives in woods, ©
where it searches for its food on the leaf litter. |

*STREAK-BREASTED SCIMITAR BABBLER Pomatorhinus ruficollis

At least 2 birds foraging low down in Fagus forest undergrowth at
about 1300 m, 11 June. Calls are loud and sharp ticks. The bill appeared
all black, whereas it is usually depicted pale (e.g. Etchécopar & Ht

F. Vuilleumier 159 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

1983, pl. 256). Mell (1925a) stated that this species was a characteristic
bird of dense undergrowth of tropical rainforest in Guangdong (Kwang-
tung). At Yaoshan, listed from 1000 to 3000 feet by Stresemann (1929a),
and from the bottom to a very high altitude by Yen (1934: 30).

*PYGMY WREN BABBLER Pnoepyga pusilla

One bird at about 1500 m in the undergrowth of Fagus forest on 10
June. Constantly flicks wings open and shut, and emits sharp tszk calls.
Cited from Yaoshan by Cheng (1987), where it is sedentary (Yen 1933:
788).

HWAMEI Garrulax canorus
Seen only once, in second-growth grassy and scrubby roadside
habitat below the Fagus belt at about 1000 m, 11 June.

RED-TAILED LAUGHING-THRUSH Garrulax milnet

Seen on two occasions in Symplocos-dominated ridgetop forest at
1800-2000 m on 10 June: first an isolated bird and then two individuals
together. They moved from tree to tree in the subcanopy, hopping on
trunks and branches, and foraging among leaves. Yen (1934: 25) stated
that it fed on the ground. Red wings and tail are extremely conspicuous
against the dark green foliage. Cited from Yaoshan and Longsheng by
Cheng (1987). Longsheng is located southwest of the Maoershan
Summit at 25°48’N, 109°57’E on the 1:6,000,000 map “China Far East’’
published by Hallwag 1991/1992 edition. Stresemann (1930b)
described the population from Yaoshan as a separate subspecies,
sinianum, which Cheng (1987) also cites from Guizhou. At Yaoshan this
species is never found below 1000 m (Yen 1934: 25).

*RED-BILLED LEIOTHRIX Lezothrix lutea

Quite common from about 1400m to nearly 2000m, in Fagus-
dominated forest on steep slopes and in Symplocos-dominated ridgetop
forest. In both types of vegetation it was found mostly in the
undergrowth (shrubs, bamboos) and was often observed in mixed flocks
(see Yen 1934: 41). Many singers were heard. The song, rich and
varied, is a characteristic sound of the Maoershan forests. From

1000-4000 feet at Yaoshan (Stresemann 1929a).

*BLUE-WINGED SIVA Muinla cyanuroptera

Common from about 1500 m to nearly 2000 m, usually isolated birds,
or 2—3 birds together, often in mixed flocks, in the undergrowth of both
Fagus- and Symplocos-dominated forests. This species seems especially
fond of bamboos, where it actively gleans for prey among bamboo leaves.
From “‘Yaoshan Mt., and southwestern part’’ of Guangxi, according to
Cheng (1987). Not listed from Yaoshan by Stresemann or Yen, but
Hachisuka (1941) described M. cyanuroptera yaoshanica, on the basis of
an unsexed adult “‘most probably [from] Yaoshan’’. According to
Hachisuka this was the first record from southern China.

*RED-TAILED SIVA Minla ignotincta
Slightly less common than M. cyanuroptera, and often found in the
same mixed flocks, from about 1500 to 2000m in both Fagus- and

F. Vuilleumier 160 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

Symplocos-dominated forests. Unlike M. cyanuroptera, however, M.
ignotincta foraged by climbing (hopping?) on moss-covered trunks and
branches rather than in bamboos and by searching the dense epiphytic
vegetation. These observations do not match those of Ali (1977), who
wrote that M. ignotincta feeds “‘tit-like in high canopy foliage’”’, and that
the habits of M. cyanuroptera were like those of M. ignotincta.
Similarly, my observations do not agree with Etchécopar & Hite (1983),
who wrote that MW. ignotincta shows a “‘marked preference for trees and
especially high branches near the treetops’. Yen (1934: 42) found
M. ignotincta common at Yaoshan between 1000 and 2000 m, where it
“flies from foliage to foliage, from branch to branch, searching for its
food, composed especially of insects’’. In Guangxi, it has been reported
in the ‘‘eastern part—Yaoshan Mt., northeastern part—Longsheng”’
(Cheng 1987). Stresemann (1929a) described the Yaoshan population
as a new subspecies, sini.

*GOLDEN-BREASTED FULVETTA Alcippe chrysotis

Seen on two occasions on 10 June: (1) two or three birds in a mixed
flock with Minla cyanuroptera, M. ignotincta, Alcippe cinereiceps,
Culicicapa ceylonensis and Leiothrix lutea at about 1600 m at the upper
edge of Fagus forest; and (2) one bird with Phylloscopus reguloides at
1900 m in ‘Symplocos-dominated forest. Actively forages, tit-like, in
bamboo undergrowth. Cheng (1987) cites this species from the
“northwestern part’ of Guangxi. Not listed by Stresemann or Yen
from Yaoshan.

*STREAK-THROATED FULVETTA Alcippe cinereiceps

Common from about 1400 m to the summit at 2142 m, in Fagus-
dominated forest, Symplocos-dominated forest, and in the dense, stunted
vegetation growing on the summit of the Maoershan ridge, composed of
thickets of bamboos, Ilex sp. and Rhododendron sp. on 9, 10 and 11 June.
Several times in mixed flocks. Several birds that I observed at close
range had white irides. This species was not cited from Guangxi by
Cheng (1987). The birds I saw looked somewhat intermediate between
specimens of guttaticollis from Fukien and 4 specimens of tonkinensis
from Tonkin collected on 17 and 19 November and 14 December 1929
and kept in the American Museum of Natural History collection. Could
Tonkin birds be migrants from southern China? King et al. (1975) stated
that Alcippe cinereiceps is ‘‘resident above 6000 ft.”’ in southeast Asia. Ali
(1977) mentioned only vertical movements in the eastern Himalayas.

*BLACK-CHINNED YUHINA Yuhina nigrimenta (?) |
Two to three birds at about 1450m in bamboo undergrowth of
Fagus-dominated forest, 10 June. ‘“‘Sedentary and common’’ at

Yaoshan (Yen 1934: 39).

*VINOUS-THROATED PARROTBILL Paradoxornis webbianus

Several at about 1100 m in dense roadside scrub, 9 June. Two at |
about 1550 m in a clearing with brush and reeds in Fagus-dominated
forest, 10 June. Several in riverine bushes at 600m in a mountain

F. Vuilleumier 161 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

valley, 11 June. In all three areas, these birds were actively foraging in
the lower part of the vegetation, usually calling loudly but remaining
out of sight. At Yaoshan, sedentary and from the foothills to about
1500 m (Yen 1934: 489).

*BROWN-FLANKED BUSH WARBLER Ceittia fortipes

Common in dense bamboo-rhododendron undergrowth of Fagus-
dominated forest from about 1400 to 1600m, 10 June, and up to
Symplocos-dominated forest on ridgetops at 1800-1900 m, 10-11 June.
The loud song, reminiscent of that of some Australian Pachycephala,
consists of one long, drawn-out, high-pitched whistle, followed by an
explosive and sonorous double syllable: theeeeeeee—thithiu! ‘The
descriptions in Fleming et al. (1976), Ali (1977) and Inskipp & Inskipp
(1985) are quite good. “‘Common at Yaoshan”’ (Yen 1933: 784).

YELLOWISH-BELLIED BUSH WARBLER Cettia acanthizoides

Heard commonly in the late evenings of 9 and 10 June and the early
morning of 11 June in Symplocos-dominated ridge-crest forest at
1800-2000 m, and in dense summit scrub at 2300-2400 m. This species
is not listed from Yaoshan by Stresemann or Yen, and is not reported
from Guangxi by Meyer de Schauensee (1984) or Cheng (1987). The
song is well described by Fleming et al. (1976), Desfayes in King et al.
(1975), Ali (1977) and Inskipp & Inskipp (1985). It consists of a series
of 4-6 slow, deliberate, very high-pitched whistles, followed by a series
of 5-7 rich, lower-pitched, and almost trill-like fluted whistles. The
whole song is quite loud, carries far, and may last up to about 30
seconds or longer.

*BLUNT-WINGED WARBLER Acrocephalus concinens

One singer at 1550 m in a clearing of Fagus-dominated forest with
dense reeds and shrubs, 10 June. Mentioned as breeding in Guangxi by
Cheng (1987). Yen (1933: 779) listed 1 adult male collected 24 June at
Yaoshan, stating that “‘according to the collecting date of my specimen,
this bird also breeds in Guangx’’.

*LEMON-RUMPED WARBLER Phylloscopus proregulus (?)

One bird seen at about 1500 m in Fagus-dominated forest, 11 June.
This species does not breed in Guangxi (Cheng 1987). Stresemann
(1930a) mentioned a specimen from December. Yen (1933: 782) stated
that it was rather common in winter at Yaoshan.

BLYTH’S LEAF WARBLER Phylloscopus reguloides

Common between 1900 and 2200m in Symplocos-dominated
ridgetop forest, where it forages in dense undergrowth. Seen in mixed
flocks. “‘Found in all seasons at Yaoshan in flocks in forests. It lives in
the summer at rather high altitudes and goes lower down in winter, to
the foot of the mountain”’ (Yen 1933: 783).

*SULPHUR-BREASTED WARBLER Phylloscopus ricketti

One bird at about 1700 m at the upper limit of the Fagus belt, 10
June. Not a member of a mixed flock. ‘“‘Found at Yaoshan from April to
June” (Yen 1933: 784).

F. Vuilleumier 162 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

*GOLDEN-SPECTACLED WARBLER Seicercus burkiu

At least one on 10 June at about 1450 m in the undergrowth of
Fagus-dominated forest. Cited from Yaoshan by Chen (1987). Found at
Yaoshan from 1000 to 2000 m (Yen 1933: 785).

*CHESTNUT-CROWNED WARBLER Seicercus castaneiceps

One seen at about 1450m in the understory of Fagus-dominated
forest, and one at about 1750 m just above the Fagus belt, 10 June.
Nervous, flicks wings; alarm calls are sharp trills. Forages by gleaning in
the foliage. Found at rather high altitudes at Yaoshan (Yen 1933: 785).

*SMALL NILTAVA Niltava macgrigoriae

Only observed once, a male singing from a perch about 1.5 m above
the ground in dark and dense shrubby undergrowth of Fagus-
dominated forest at about 1400 m, 10 June. The song is a series of thin
and variably high pitched squeaky whistles (see Ali 1977), emitted with
the bill wide open. Call notes are a series of harsh grating sounds that
can be rendered by krr-krrr-krrr. Cited from Yaoshan as resident by
Cheng (1987). Yen (1933: 765) had written that in Guangxi this species

was found only at Yaoshan, where it is sedentary and common.

VERDITER FLYCATCHER Muscicapa thalassina

One observation, of a singing male, at about 1950 m in Symplocos-
dominated ridgetop forest on 10 June. The bird sang from exposed dead
branches in the treetops, frequently returning to the same perch. The
song consists of a series of high-pitched sounds emitted with the bill
wide open, not unlike the song of Niltava macgrigoriae, but more varied.
Ali (1977) compared the song of M. thalassina to that of Zosterops.
Probably sedentary at Yaoshan (Yen 1933: 763).

*GREY-HEADED FLYCATCHER Culicicapa ceylonensis

One bird on 10 June in a mixed flock at about 1600 m near the upper
level of the Fagus-dominated belt foraging in the middle stratum of the
forest and in undergrowth. Other species in the flock included Alcippe
chrysotis, Minla cyanuroptera, Minla ignotincta, Alcippe cinereiceps and
Letothrix lutea. Cited from Yaoshan by Cheng (1987). Stresemann
(1930c) wondered whether this species was a winter visitor to Yaoshan,
but Yen (1933: 765) listed specimens from May and June.

*GREEN-BACKED TIT Parus monticolus

Two birds at about 1500m in Fagus-dominated forest, 10 June.
Foraged at medium to high levels in trees and shrubs, calling regularly.
The voice sounded similar to that of Parus major. Not cited from
Guangxi by Cheng (1987); not cited from Yaoshan by Stresemann or
Yen.

*YELLOW-CHEEKED TIT Parus spilonotus

Seen at about 1900 m in ridgetop vegetation dominated by Symplocos,
10 June, and in Fagus-dominated forest at 1300 m on 11 June. At the
latter place a pair of birds were building a nest, bringing material to a
cavity near the top of a tall, isolated roadside Fagus snag. Calls a

F. Vualleumter 163 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

Parus-like tcheeé. Cited from Yaoshan by Cheng (1987). ‘Resides in
forests of Yaoshan from 500 to 2000 meters altitude’ (Yen 1934: 315).

Sedentary but shows altitudinal movements.

YELLOW-BROWED TIT Sylviparus modestus

Two birds in the understory of ridgetop vegetation dominated by
Symplocos at about 1900 m, 10 June. This species was not reported from
Guangxi Province by Etchécopar & Htie (1983), Meyer de Schauensee
(1984) or Cheng (1987). Not cited from Yaoshan by Stresemann or
Yen. My observations thus appears to fill a distributional gap between
Yunnan and Guangdong.

MRS GOULD’S SUNBIRD Aethopyga gouldiae (?)

One bird in Symplocos-dominated ridgetop forest at about 1850 m,
11 June. Collected 23 May 1929 at Yaoshan (Stresemann 1930c) and
supposed to breed. Common there above 1000 m according to Yen
(1934: 492) and sedentary.

JAPANESE WHITE-EYE Zosterops japonica

Seen in mountain valleys with intensive cultivation at 600-800 m on
9 and 11 June. One nest was being built on 11 June in the crown of a
10 m tall, isolated tree along a torrent in a village at 600 m.

WHITE-RUMPED MUNIA Lonchura striata
Several in brushy riverine vegetation at 600 m on 11 June.

EURASIAN TREE SPARROW Passer montanus
Seen only in villages in mountain valleys at 600-800 m, 9 and 11 June.
Found only below 500 m at Yaoshan according to Yen (1934: 501).

RED-BILLED MAGPIE Uyocissa erythrorhyncha

Uncommon in dense shrubbery along rivers in the bottoms of
mountain valleys at 600-800 m, 9 and 11 June. Interestingly Yen (1934:
505) wrote that this species was rare in lowlands but very abundant on
wooded hills and high mountains at Yaoshan.

EURASIAN MAGPIE Pica pica

Two birds at 600 m in dense riverine vegetation, 11 June, were the
only ones seen in the Maoershan area. Yen (1934: 505) wrote that the
Magpie was “‘sedentary and very common in all regions of Guangxi’”’
and that “‘At Yaoshan we found it at the foot of the mountain, but very
rarely above 1000 m altitude.”

Beech forest species

Unfortunately a total of only about 9 hours could be spent in beech
(Fagus) forests (1 hour in late afternoon on 9 June; 6 hours in the
morning on 10 June; and 2 hours in the morning on 11 June). Clearly
much more time would be necessary to obtain a representative list of
the species of birds occurring in such diverse forests. Nevertheless, in
view of the apparent lack of any published list of birds in any Fagus
forest in China, a few comments may be useful here.

F.. Vuilleumier 164 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

Of the 58 species identified (some with ‘‘?’’) in the Maoershan area,
only 33 (57%) were seen in the Fagus belt (marked with an * in the
annotated list). I did not see (or hear) birds from several families that I
expected in this area, including Phasianidae, Columbidae, Apodidae,
Capitonidae, Trogonidae, Pittidae, Oriolidae, Dicruridae, Sturnidae
and Emberizidae.

Generally speaking, I found bird density to be low in Fagus forests
from 1300 to 1600 m. The birds seen or heard most commonly belong
to the Cuculidae (especially Cuculus poliocephalus), 'Timaliidae
(especially Leiothrix lutea, Minla cyanuroptera, M. ignotincta, Alcippe
chrysotis and A. cinereiceps), Sylviidae (Cettia fortipes), and Paridae
(Parus monticolus, P. spilonotus). ‘The four commonest species, in
decreasing order of relative abundance, were (1) Leiothrix lutea (seen or
heard during every observation period), (2) Cettia fortipes (locally
common in dense undergrowth), (3) Minla cyanuroptera (present in
many patches of bamboo), and (4) Minla ignotincta (seen several times
on tree trunks and branches).

Bird density appeared to be greater in the Symplocos-dominated
forests on smooth slopes and ridgetops at 1800-2000 m than in the
Fagus-dominated forests on steep slopes at lower elevations, although
only 20 species (34% of total) were noted in Symplocos forests. Also,
different species occurred higher up, including Chloropsis hardwickii,
Musicapa_ thalassina, Phylloscopus reguloides (common), Garrulax
milnet, Turdus boulboul (common), Monticola rufiventris and Sylviparus
modestus. Note, however, that 7 species (12% of total) were observed in
both Fagus and Symplocos forests. Of these, several were those I found
to be the commonest in Fagus: Leiothrix lutea, Minla cyanuroptera,
Alcippe cinereiceps, Cettia fortipes and Parus spilonotus.

To what extent the altitudinal zonation and greater density at higher
altitudes reflect biological reality is impossible to say with such a small
sample size. Symplocos forests did seem to be less disturbed than Fagus
forests, where I noticed a number of artificial (second-growth)
clearings. Perhaps the higher-elevation Symplocos forests of the
Maoershan Natural Reserve (except the area immediately around and
below the T’V station) are better protected from human activities than
the lower Fagus forests. Clearly, logging extends (or extended) to the
lower altitudinal range of Fagus. Isolated small stands, isolated trees,
and snags are evidence that the lower part of the Fagus belt is
vulnerable to human destruction.

In his paper on the montane forest (500-1100 m) avifauna of
Guangdong, Mell (1925b) discussed ground foragers, undergrowth
skulkers, tree foragers, canopy foragers, and summit “‘hunters’’. These
guilds include some of the birds I saw at Maoershan. For instance
Cettia fortipes, Pomatorhinus ruficollis and Letothrix lutea were birds of
the understory in both areas. More detailed comparisons are precluded,
however, because unfortunately Mell (1925a) did not give complete
lists of all birds he allotted to each foraging category, nor did he always
list them by Latin names.

The fauna I sampled in beech forests of northern Guangxi resembles
the fauna that is found in subtropical forests of the Himalayas, farther

F. Vuilleumier 165 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

west in Asia, with its minivets, numerous babblers, and characteristic
mixed flocks. Some species are clearly Himalayan, reaching in Guangxi
their easternmost limit, whereas others (e.g. Garrulax milnet) are more
localized to southern China, Indochina and Burma.

Acknowledgements

My trip to the Maoershan Natural Reserve was made possible in part by my participation
as co-leader of the American Birding Association—People to People (Citizen Ambassador
Program) delegation to the P. R. of China. I am most grateful to Allan Keith (President of
the American Birding Association) and Dawn Davis (of the Citizen Ambassador Program)
for this opportunity. Some of the arrangements for the trip to Maoershan were kindly
made by Ms Liza Novin of People to People. Mr Zhou Qixin, Director of China Civil
International Tourist Corporation (CCITC) in Beijing, helped me obtain the air tickets
from Shanghai to Guilin. I am grateful to Professor Ma Yiging, Director of the Depart-
ment of Zoology of the Institute of Natural Resources of the Heilongjiang Academy of
Sciences in Harbin, for useful correspondence and help with the preparation of this trip,
and especially for suggesting localities where I might find suitable stands of beech forests.
Prof. Yiqing’s student, Mr Jiang Zhaowen, Assistant Researcher in the Institute of Natural
Resources, ably assisted me in the field at Maoershan, where I was also accompanied by Mr
Huang Chengming, Assistant Professor and Vice Director of the Biology Department,
Guangxi Teachers’ University in Guilin, and Mr Li Guang-Zhao, Associate Professor at
the Guangxi Institute of Botany in Guilin. I greatly appreciated Mr Huang’s ornithologi-
cal input, and Mr Li’s expert botanical knowledge. Mr Wei Fanan, Director of the
Laboratory of Plant Taxonomy at the Guangxi Institute of Botany, Guilin, kindly allowed
Mr Li to travel with me. Mr Lu Liven, Associate Professor in the Biology Department at
Guangxi Teachers’ University, was not able to join us in the field but helped greatly in
making the necessary arrangements for our visit to the Maoershan Reserve, especially
facilitating our spending two nights in the hostel of the TV station near the summit.

My thanks go also to Hiroyochi Higuchi of the Research Center of The Wild Bird
Society of Japan, for having suggested that I visit Chinese Fagus forests in the first place,
and to Xiaoming Wang of the Department of Vertebrate Paleontology at the American
Museum of Natural History, for much help with the initial correspondence with
Professor Ma and translation of crucial Chinese literature. I thank the Chairman of the
TV station at Maoershan for allowing a foreigner to spend two nights in his hostel. I
gratefully acknowledge the financial assistance provided by the Sanford Endowment
Fund. I thank Paul Sweet for his help during the preparation of the trip and the writing
of this paper and Elizabeth De Jesus for typing the manuscript.

References:

Ali, S. 1977. Field Guide to the Birds of the Eastern Himalayas. Oxford Univ. Press.

Cheng, T. 1987. A Synopsis of the Avifauna of China. Science Press, Beijing.

Etchécopar, R. D. & Hie, F. 1983. Les Oiseaux de la Chine, de Mongolie et de Corée.
Passereaux. Soc. Nouvelle des Editions Boubée, Paris.

Fleming, R. L., Sr., Fleming, R. L., Jr. & Bangdel, L. S. 1976. Birds of Nepal, with
Reference to Kashmir and Sikkim. Box 229, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Hachisuka, M. 1941. Descriptions of two new races of birds from South China. Proc.
Biol. Soc. Washington 54: 49-50.

Inskipp, C. & Inskipp, T. 1985. A Guide to the Birds of Nepal. Christopher Helm,
London, and Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.

King, B., Woodcock, M. & Dickinson, E. C. 1975. A Field Guide to the Birds of
South-east Asia. Collins, London, and the Stephen Greene Press, Lexington, Mass.

|e ee 1985. A preliminary study on the Maoershan flora. Guihaia 5(3): 211-226. (In

hinese).

Li, G-Z. 1986. The forests of Maoershan Mountain in Guangxi Autonomous Region.
Forestry Science and Technology 3: 15-18, 34. (In Chinese).

Mell, R. 1925a. Ueber floristisch-faunistische Formationen in Stidchina mit besonderer
Berticksichtigung der Ornis. III. Der tropische Regenwald. ¥. Orn. 73: 16-45.
Mell, R. 1925b. Ueber floristisch-faunistische Formationen in Stidchina mit besonderer
Beriicksichtigung der Ornis. IV. Der montane Regenwald. ¥. Orn. 73: 163-193.

A. Townsend Peterson 166 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

Meyer de Schauensee, R. 1984. The Birds of China. Smithsonian Institution Press,
Washington, D. C.

Stresemann, E. 1929a. Eine Vogelsammlung aus Kwangsi. 7. Orn. 77: 323-337.

Stresemann, E. 1929b. Neue Vogelrassen aus Kwangsi. Orn. Monatsber. 37: 139-141.

Stresemann, E. 1930a. Eine zweite Vogelsammlung aus Kwangsi. 7. Orn. 78: 76-86.

Stresemann, E. 1930b. Neue Vogelrassen aus Kwangsi II. Orn. Monatsber. 38: 47-49.

Stresemann, E. 1930c. Eine dritte Vogelsammlung aus Kwangsi. 7. Orn. 78: 301-308.

Vuilleumier, F. 1985. Forest birds of Patagonia: ecological geography, speciation,
endemism, and faunal history. Pp. 255-304 in P. A. Buckley, M. S. Foster, E. S.
Morton, R. S. Ridgely & F. G. Buckley (eds), Neotropical Ornithology. Orn. Mongr.
no. 36. American Ornithologists’ Union.

Vuilleumier, F. & Kikkawa, J. 1991. Reconstructing the history of Nothofagus forest
avifaunas. Acta XX Congr. Internat. Orn.: 578-586.

Yen, K. Y. 1933-1934. Les oiseaux du Kwangsi (Chine). Oiseau (NS) 3: 204-243,
615-638, 755-788; 4: 24-51, 297-317, 489-507.

Zhang, Yu-xia 1979. A preliminary survey of animals in Miaor-shan district (Guangxi).
JF. Guangxi Normal College (Nat. Sci.) 1: 10-18. (In Chinese, not seen)

Address: Department of Ornithology, American Museum of Natural History, Central
Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024, U.S.A.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

Species status of Geotrygon carrikeri

by A. Townsend Peterson
Received 21 Fuly 1992

From collections made by M. A. Carriker, Jr., Wetmore (1941)
described two new taxa of birds from the Los Tuxtlas region of
southern Veracruz, Mexico. These taxa were a large form related to the
sabrewing hummingbird Campylopterus curvipennis and a form related
to the quail-dove Geotrygon lawrencii but disjunct from the remainder
of the species’ range by more than 1500 km. Wetmore described both as
new subspecies.

Although the hummingbird has been studied in detail (R. C.
Banks, pers. comm.) and elevated to species status (Campylopterus
excellens; A.O.U. 1983), the quail-dove has remained in obscurity,
with no reexamination of its distinctiveness (Goodwin 1977). On a
recent visit to the U.S. National Museum of Natural History
(USNM), I had the opportunity to compare the holotype and two
other specimens of Wetmore’s G. 1. carrikeri with specimens from
other populations of G. lawrencii. Being impressed with the
distinctiveness of carrikeri, I argue in this communication for its
elevation to a full species.

Wetmore listed eight characters that differentiate carrikeri from
other populations of G. lawrencii. I reexamined these characters,
comparing the three adult female specimens of carrikeri at the
USNM with one female, two male, and one unsexed lawrencu from
Panama. The carrikeri specimens have somewhat paler coloration

A. Townsend Peterson 167 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

above, the centre of the back and the scapular areas lighter and more
purplish, the wing coverts and tail distinctly lighter brown, the lower
back and rump distinctly lighter, the malar stripe distinctly wider,
and the sides and flanks strikingly paler brown (chocolate in
lawrencit, light brown in carrikeri). That carrikeri has a lighter and
brighter green crown, hindneck, and upper back, and whiter undertail
coverts (Wetmore 1941) was not so obvious to me, given the
pronounced individual variation in the small series available.
Additional differences in coloration between the two forms include
the absence of dark purplish iridescence on the upper surface of the
rectrices in carrikeri, and the light grey (as opposed to slaty) chest of
carrikert.

Beyond differences in coloration, carrikeri is a distinctly larger bird
than other populations of G. lawrencit. Wing chords of the three
carrikeri females are 149, 150 and 146.5 mm (USNM 359656, 359655
and 359654, respectively), compared with 131 (USNM 483334
female), 135 (USNM 148348 unsexed), 139.5 (USNM 484281 male),
and 137 mm (USNM 476039 male) in G. 1. lawrencit. Tail lengths in
the same individuals are 87, 89 and 83 mm in carrikeri, compared
with 73, 67, 70 mm and unmeasurable in G. I. lawrencii; and exposed
culmens are 14.88, 16.32 and 15.88 mm in carrikeri, compared with
13.83 mm, unmeasurable, 13.08 and 14.03 mm in G. I. lawrencit.
Differences in tarsus length were minimal. An additional difference
may or may not lie in egg colour: Andrle (1967) reported an egg of
carrikeri to be “a plain, pale pinkish colour’’, whereas Olson et al.
(1968) described an egg of G. 1. lawrencii as “‘very pale buff (cream)’’.

Although Wetmore (1941) clearly considered carrikeri to be very
distinct from other populations of G. lawrencii, subsequent workers
evidently have not appreciated the differences, perhaps owing to the
scarcity of specimens of both forms. Carrikeri is well differentiated
from other G. lawrencii populations in several aspects of plumage
coloration, and the two have non-overlapping ranges of several
mensural characters. Although the two forms would certainly be
considered separate phylogenetic species (McKitrick & Zink 1988),
the large disjunction separating them precludes the test of sympatry
critical to a decision under the biological species concept. Recent
decisions under this concept have tended toward recognition of
disjunct differentiated forms as full species (e.g. Banks 1990,
Escalante & Peterson 1992), so I suggest that carrikeri would be best
treated as a full species forming a superspecies with G. lawrencii. The
relationships of these two forms with other potentially closely related
quail-doves such as G. costaricensis, G. goldmani, G. saphirina, and
perhaps even G. veraguensis, merit further study.

In a recent summary of avian diversity patterns in Mexico, two
colleagues and I surveyed levels of species richness and endemism in
35 regions of Mexico (Escalante et al. in press). In that analysis, we
were surprised to find that the Los Tuxtlas region presented one of
the lowest levels of endemism in all of Mexico, holding only one
species endemic to Mexico. This result was surprising because of the
extreme isolation of the montane habitats in the region. However,

A. Townsend Peterson 168 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

with the recognition of Campylopterus excellens as a full species
(A.0O.U. 1983), the evidence presented above for the species-level
differentiation of Geotrygon carrikeri, and evidence of extreme
differentiation of the Los Tuxtlas populations of the bush-tanager
Chlorospingus ophthalmicus and the brush-finch Atlapetes brunneinucha
in allozyme characters (Peterson et al. 1992), levels of isolation,
endemism, and differentiation in the birds of the region can be seen
to be nontrivial.

The conservation status of those endemic forms is, unfortunately, of
increasing concern. Deforestation is taking place at a high rate in the
region on both the Volcan de San Martin and the Sierra de Santa
Martha. Small ranches and other settlement are being built higher and
higher on the slopes of both mountain ranges. Although a small patch
of lowland tropical rain forest is protected as the Estacion Biolégica de
Los Tuxtlas, and various plans for protecting the montane parts of the
region have been advanced, the forests of the Los Tuxtlas region
remain all but unprotected.

Acknowledgements

R. C. Banks should be thanked for initiating this problem by suggesting that we “‘check
the specimens”’ at the U.S. National Museum. Thanks also to P. Escalante-Pliego for
critical comment on the manuscript.

References:

Andrle, R. F. 1967. Birds of the Sierra de Tuxtla in Veracruz, Mexico. Wilson Bull. 79:
163-187.

A.O.U. 1983. Check-list of North American Birds. American Ornithologists’ Union,
Washington, D.C.

Banks, R. C. 1990. Taxonomic status of the coquette hummingbird of Guerrero, Mexico.
Auk 107: 191-192.

Escalante P., P., Navarro S., A. G. & Peterson, A. T. In press. A geographic, historical,
and ecological analysis of avian diversity in Mexico. In The biological diversity of
Mexico: origins and distribution (Ramamoorthy, Bye, Lot, and Fa, eds.). Oxford
Univ. Press, New York.

Escalante P., P. & Peterson, A. T. 1992. Species limits in the hummingbird genus
Thalurania. Wilson Bull. 104: 205-219.

Goodwin, D. 1977. Pigeons and Doves of the World, 2nd ed. British Museum (Nat. Hist.)
and Comstock Publ. Assc., Ithaca, New York.

McKitrick, M. C. & Zink, R. M. 1988. Species concepts in ornithology. Condor 90: 1-14.

Olson, S. L., Powell, G. V. N. & Eisenmann, E. 1968. Distributional records from Cerro
Campana, Panama, with notes on a nesting of the quail-dove, Geotrygon lawrencit.
Condor 70: 179-180.

Peterson, A. T., Escalante P., P. & Navarro S., A. G. 1992. Genetic differentiation
among Mexican populations of Chestnut-capped Brush-finches (Atlapetes brunnet-
nucha) and Common Bush-tanagers (Chlorospingus ophthalmicus). Condor 94:
242-251.

Wetmore, A. 1941. New forms of birds from México and Colombia. Proc. Biol. Soc.
Washington 54: 203-210.

Address: A. Townsend Peterson, Division of Birds, Field Museum of Natural History,
Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60605-2496, U.S.A.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

L. Christidis & R. Schodde 169 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

Sexual selection for novel partners: a
mechanism for accelerated morphological

evolution in the birds-of-paradise
(Paradisaeidae)

by Leslie Christidis S Richard Schodde
Received 31 Fuly 1992

In morphological form and behavioural display, the 40-45 species of
birds-of-paradise (Paradisaeidae) currently recognized (Mayr 1962,
Sibley & Monroe 1990) are one of the most spectacular and diverse
families of passerines. Recent molecular studies indicate that this
diversity has arisen rapidly. Thus in a protein allozyme study,
Christidis & Schodde (1992) found genetic distances (Nei 1978)
ranging from only 0.09 to 0.37 among six morphologically distinct
genera of paradisaeine birds-of-paradise. Using the avian protein
molecular clock of Marten & Johnson (1986), the following dates of
divergence can be estimated for the genera examined by Christidis &
Schodde (1992). The manucodes (Manucodia) and the paradisaeine
lineage of polygynous species split from one another 7 million years ago,
the riflebirds (Pitiloris) from the core polygynous clade 4 million years
ago, and then the remaining genera examined—Cicinnurus, Epimachus,
Parotia and Lophorina—from one another within the last 2 million
years. These dates are proportional to, though considerably less than,
those calibrated from DNA-DNA hybridization by Sibley & Ahlquist
(1985). According to their data, manucodes diverged from other
paradisaeines some 18 million years ago, and most polygynous genera
from one another within the last 4 or 5 million years. Irrespective of the
accuracy of these estimates, it seems clear that the polygynous New
Guinean birds-of-paradise exploded into their present array of forms
recently. Palaeogeographic events match the protein data in particular.
The massive cordilleras in which the New Guinean radiation in
paradisaeines is centred today were raised only 2 to 3 million years ago,
after connections with ancestral stocks of Australian-centred Ptiloris
would have been sundered (Doutch 1972, Dow & Sukatmo 1984).
What factors can account for such a rapid rate of morphological
change? Two which have been proposed are sexual selection (Darwin
1871) and niche shifts (Diamond 1986). Diamond (1986) has compared
the diversification in birds-of-paradise to radiations in other Pacific
island passerines, the Hawaiian honeycreepers (Drepanididae) and
Darwin’s finches (Geospizinae). Diversification in these groups is
believed to have been driven by exploitation of suites of niches
unoccupied by other birds. Such circumstances, however, do not apply
to the birds-of-paradise which, in contrast, have evolved in situ within
the continental Australo-Papuan avifauna, alongside pigeons, orioles
(Oriolidae) and the larger honeyeaters (Meliphagidae) which use the
same range of niches: arboreal frugivory and insectivory. Shifts in

L. Christidis G R. Schodde 170 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

environmental selection for natural variants are also unlikely to explain
paradisaeine diversity because individual variation within populations
is no greater than in other species of birds (Diamond 1986).

If sexual selection is the principal force that has driven
morphological divergence within the birds-of-paradise, what is its
underlying mechanism? Diamond (1991:176) has suggested that the
‘handicap model’ of Zahavi (1975) may operate in birds-of-paradise.
According to this controversial hypothesis, secondary sexual character-
istics may in fact operate to reduce the ecological fitness of their
carriers. Furthermore, characters such as bright and conspicuous
plumage serve to highlight to the opposite sex the underlying
competence of any individual capable of flourishing despite such
disability.

Another possible mechanism is the ‘runaway’ selection hypothesis
proposed by Fisher (1930). According to this model, a female inherits
genes from her male parent that predispose her to prefer a particular trait
in males—long gaudy tail feathers for example. Males with gaudy tail
feathers pass genes continuously to their daughters that compel them to
choose males with ever gaudier tail feathers, accelerating a cycle of
‘runaway’ evolution. In support of this model, Andersson (1982) found
that female Long-tailed Widowbirds Euplectes progne preferentially
chose males that had had their tails artificially lengthened.

One consequence shared by both ‘handicap’ and ‘runaway’ selection
models is the accentuation, through sexual selection, of variation
already present in the population. Thus constrained, these mechanisms
do not seem to explain either the range or rapidity of morphological
evolution in polygynous paradisaeine birds-of-paradise. Instead, we
postulate that preference by females for a mate that is novel or unique
provides the answer.

Ten Cate & Bateson (1988) have suggested that preference for
conspicuous and slightly novel partners may evolve in some instances
to avoid inbreeding. This is usually offset by imprinting, through
which mate preference is affected by learning the appearance of the
opposite sex from parents. In polygynous species, however, males do
not tend the young and so female chicks have no male model on which
to imprint. Male chicks may learn the form of the mother, but, as is
well-known (Diamond 1972), female paradisaeines are mostly similar in
plumage and unlike the diversely plumaged males. Such a situation, in
which females, unconstrained by early imprinting, are attracted to
novel males, could lead to a cycle driven by preferences for gross
mutations. Female selection for novelty in this form may in turn
compensate for any initial ecological or physiological disadvantage
produced by major mutations. Because of breeding structure, further-
more, effective population size will be lower in polygamous that
monogamous species. Therefore, any mutation or hybrid trait con-
ferring such a selective advantage should become fixed rapidly in
polygamous species.

Such a mechanism may also account for the occurrence of sporadic
inter-generic hybridization in birds-of-paradise (summarized in Table
1). In those species of birds-of-paradise where mating behaviour has

L. Christidis & R. Schodde 17h Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

TABLE 1
Hybridization recorded between genera of birds-of-paradise (from Stresemann 1930,
Mayr 1962, Gray 1958, Fuller 1979). Key: +=hybrids recorded, P=polygynous, ?=no
data, A=allopatric, A?=possibly some contact in range

Mating
system 1 2 3 + 5 6 7 8 9

1 Astrapia
2 Epimachus
3 Lophorina
4 Parotia
5 Cicinnurus
6 Paradisaea
7 Paradigalla
8 Seleucidis
9 Ptiloris
10 Pteridophora

HK

a> HaoHiaeit Mao HaoHas Hao HasHas)
> >
z

been studied in detail, it appears that females actively choose males on
the basis of display and plumage characters to maximize ‘fitness’ of
their offspring (e.g. Pruett-Jones & Pruett-Jones 1990). In such species,
interspecific hybridization should be eschewed. In paradisaeines,
nevertheless, hybridization not just between species but even ‘genera’
does occur (Table 1). In that table, Paradisaea x Parotia is newly
recorded, represented by an individual Paradisaea rudolphi X Parotia
lawesii in feminine plumage from Baiyer River, Papua New Guinea, in
the Australian Museum (AM 0.40100); it has the ventral markings and
dusky bill of Parotia lawesii and the all black head, white orbital marks
and heavy decurving bill of Paradisaea rudolphi. From Table 1, it is
evident that hybrids have been recorded between most polygynous
genera that are sympatric. Because natural hybridization in other avian
families invariably involves species that resemble one another (Gray
1958), some of these crosses, as between Astrapia and Epimachus and
between Lophorina and Cicinnurus, are extraordinary, so different are
the parental taxa in morphology and plumage patterns. Under the
mechanism of sexual selection proposed here for birds-of-paradise,
preference for novel or unique males would account for such
inter-generic hybridization.

According to this interpretation, female choice in birds-of-paradise
differs from the ‘relative choice’ model of Lande (1981) and Zuk et al.
(1990), which has females comparing males to select those with the
most exaggerated form of secondary sexual characters, irrespective of
the nature and frequency of the trait. In our model, female choice is
directed towards the male with the most unique or different form of
secondary sexual character. It is a model that can be tested by simple
experimentation in the field. For example, the plumes of selected males
could be altered in colour and shape, and mating success recorded
before and after modification. Traits could be altered either to
accentuate present variation (cf. Andersson 1982), or to appear as new.

L. Christidis & R. Schodde 172 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

Species such as those of Paradisaea, which congregate conspicuously at
display trees, would be ideal for such investigation, particularly as they
form hierarchies in dominance (Beehler 1989) which could be changed
by modifying the plumage of individual males. According to the
mechanism canvassed here, we predict that mating success will increase
significantly in those males altered most radically from the norm.

References:

Andersson, M. 1982. Female choice selects for extreme tail length in a widowbird.
Nature 299: 818-820.

Beehler, B. M. 1989. The birds of paradise. Sct. dm. Dec 1989: 67-73.

Christidis, L. & Schodde, R. 1992. Protein allozyme relationships among the
birds-of-paradise (Paradisaeidae) and the bowerbirds and catbirds (Ptilono-
rhynchidae). Aust. ¥. Zool. 40: 343-353.

Darwin, C. 1871. The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex. Appleton, New
York.

Diamond, J. M. 1972. Avifauna of the Eastern Highlands of New Guinea. Publ. Nuttall
Om {Cle 2:

Diamond, J. M. 1986. Biology of birds of paradise and bowerbirds. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst.
17: 17-37.

Diamond, J. M. 1991. The Rise and Fall of the Third Chimpanzee. Radius, London.

Doutch, H. F. 1972. The paleogeography of northern Australia and New Guinea and its
relevance to the Torres Strait area. Pp. 1-10 in D. Walker (ed.), Bridge and Barrier:
the Natural and Cultural History of Torres Strait. Australian National University
Press, Canberra.

Dow, D. B. & Sukatmo, R. 1984. Later Tertiary to Quaternary tectonics of Irian Jaya.
Episodes 7: 3-9.

Fisher, R. A. 1930. The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection. Clarendon Press, London.

Fuller, E. 1979. Hybridization amongst the Paradisaeidae. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 99:
145-152.

Gray, A. P. 1958. Bird Hybrids. Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux, Bucks, U.K.

Lande, R. 1981. Models of speciation by sexual selection on polygenic traits. Proc. Nat.
Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 78: 3721-3725.

Marten, J. A. & Johnson, N. K. 1986. Genetic relationships of North American
cardueline finches. Condor 88: 409-420.

Mayr, E. 1962. Paradisaeidae. Pp. 181-204 7m E. Mayr & J. C. Greenway (eds), Check-list
of Birds of the World. Vol. 15. Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard.

Nei, M. 1978. Estimation of average heterozygosity and genetic distance from a small
number of individuals. Genetics 89: 583-590.

Pruett-Jones, S. G. & Pruett-Jones, M. A. 1990. Sexual selection through female choice
in Lawes’ Parotia, a lek-mating bird of paradise. Evol. 44: 486-501.

Sibley, C. G. & Ahlquist J. E. 1985. The phylogeny and classification of the
Australo-Papuan paserine birds. Emu 85: 1-14.

Sibley, C. G. & Monroe, B. L., Jr. 1990. Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World.
Yale University Press.

Stresemann, E. 1930. Welche Paradiesvogelarten der Literatur sind hybriden Ursprungs?
Novit. Zool. 36: 6-15.

Ten Cate, C. & Bateson, P. 1988. Sexual selection: the evolution of conspicuous
characteristics in birds by means of imprinting. Evol. 42: 1355-1358.

Zahavi, A. 1975. Mate-selection—a selection for a handicap. 7. Theor. Biol. 53: 205-214.

Zuk, M., Johnson, K., Thornhill, R. & Ligon, J. D. 1990. Mechanisms of female choice
in Red Jungle Fowl. Evol. 44: 477-485.

Addresses: Dr L. Christidis, Department of Ornithology, Museum of Victoria, 71
Victoria Crescent, Abbotsford, Victoria 3067, Australia. Dr R. Schodde, CSIRO
Division of Wildlife and Ecology, PO Box 84, Lyneham, A.C.T. 2602, Australia.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

P. A. Clancey 173 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

Subspeciation in the austral African

Thick-billed Lark
by P. A. Clancey

Received 5 August 1992

The range of the Thick-billed Lark Galerida magnirostris (Stephens),
1826: near Cape Town, of the extreme south-west of the Afrotropics is
limited to country extending from c. 28°S in Namibia south to Cape
Agulhas in the west and to about 29°25’E on the Lesotho/Natal border
in the east. In the western and central parts of its distribution it affects
coastal districts and agricultural land, and is a characteristic species of
the Karoo sector of the interior of the Cape, to the east of which it
occurs in grassland on the continental plateau and the alpine zone of the
Drakensberg Mts. While it is in the main sedentary, in the eastern
highland parts of the range there is a measure of post-breeding
altitudinal movement.

The main climatic zones and variable habitat-types affected by this
lark are reflected in a regionally disposed sequence of mensural and
plumage colouration variables, with heavily billed and _ reddish
populations present over much of the west and somewhat greyer and
finer billed differentiates in the more mesic east. The subspecific
variation in so far as it affects Cape birds was considered by
Winterbottom (1957). The whole species was first adequately reviewed
some twenty years ago by Quickelberge (1970), when three subspecies
of this southern African endemic lark species were recognised: the
nominate race; G. m. harei (Roberts), 1924: Philipstown, northeastern
Cape; and G. m. montivaga (Vincent), 1948, from the eastern Lesotho
highlands. In an earlier communication, Clancey (1963) demonstrated
that it was perhaps desirable to recognise a further subspecies from the
singularly arid northwestern sector of the species’ range, but
Quickelberge viewed the population in question as part of G.m. harei on
the basis of the evidence then available and largely on similarity in
overall size. The recent finding of magnirostris in the southern parts of
Great } Namaqualand, Namibia (Clancey 1989), and the examination
of a specimen from the said territory, has occasioned a re-assessment of
the case, as this example is not referable to harei, resulting in a
taxonomic realignment of the bulk of the populations and the
introduction of a new name.

The marked west-east pattern of decline in bill-size in the
Thick-billed lark (Table 1) closely parallels that present in the Sabota
Lark Mirafra sabota Smith, which lies mainly to the northeast of
magnirostris, but with extensive sympatry where their ranges overlap.
The range of substrate-types and their attendant vegetational shifts are,
however, markedly wider for M. sabota, and the extent of its
subspeciation is correspondingly greater than in G. magnirostris. In
dealing with regional variation in bill-size in southern African alaudids,
brief mention may be made of the robust bill of the highly localised

P. A. Clancey 174 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

TABLE 1
Wing, tail and culmen lengths (mm) in 109 specimens of the Thick-billed Lark Galerida
magnirostris.
n Range Mean s.d.
G.m. magnirostris 3S Wing 15 98-103 100.7 1.53
Tail 15 54-60 57.6 1.96
Culmen 15 21.7-23 22.1 0.78
Q Wing 8 93-99 96.5 1.72
Tail 8 54-57 55.5 1.41
Culmen 8 20.5-22.5 21.4 0.72
G.m. sedentaria 3 Wing 38 104-110.5 106.7 1.65
Tail 38 60-68.5 63.4 2.24
Culmen 38 20-23 21.6 0.87
Q Wing 28 98-103 100.6 1233
Tail 28 57-64 60.0 1.69
Culmen 28 19-22.5 20.8 0.91
G.m. haret 3 Wing 12 102.5-109.5 105.8 2.24:
Tail 12 60-67 63.4 2258
Culmen 12 18-20 19.0 0.67
Q Wing 8 96-101.5 98.5 1.86
Tail 8 54.5-60 57.8 2.11
Culmen 8 18-20 18.5 0.77

Statistical analysis. Wing- and tail-lengths combined, G.m. magnirostris $3 (158.36) vs
G.m. sedentaria 3g (170.23): t=12.3148, df=51, P<0.001. G.m. magnirostris 22 (152.06)
vs G.m. sedentaria 92 (160.48): t=9.0046, df=34, P<0.001. Culmen-length, sexes
combined, G.m. harei (18.86) vs G.m. sedentaria (21.32): t=10.3041, df=84, P<0.001.

sympatric’ Red Lark Certhilauda (albescens) burra (Bangs) of the red
sand-dune country immediately south of the lower Orange R. in
Bushmanland and adjacent parts of the northwestern Cape Province. In
this instance evident correlation between bill-mass and feeding strategy
and ground texture is wanting, as the Red Lark favours soft, shifting
sandy terrain. It is noteworthy that in these larks there may be extreme
plasticity in bill-form within the limits of a single polytypic species
inhabiting a wide spectrum of substrate and vegetational complexes, so
that bill-size should be used with circumspection as a criterion in the
recognition of species-level taxa.

Variability in the Thick-billed Lark’s wing- and _tail- lengths is |
limited, with the smaller sized of the two readily definable groupings of |
populations centred on the Winter Rainfall District of the southwestern |
Cape and constituting the nominate subspecies. In this population, |
wings in males are <103, in females <97, and tails respectively <60 and |
<56 mm. The other populations of the species are on the whole larger: |
wings in males >102, females >100, tails >80 and >58 mm, with little |
regional difference between west and east, even in the case of the |
montane population present in the extreme east of the range. The ©

P. A. Clancey 175 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

populations of G. magnirostris, like those of M. sabota, polarise on the
basis of bill-mass into two well-defined groups, the western
heavy-billed differentiates being divisible on the basis of overall size, as
outlined above, into two subspecies. For one of these a name is
introduced. In the case of the shorter and weaker billed eastern
populations, two races are currently recognised, but a critical study of
material of both forms—G. m. haret and G. m. montivaga—indicates
that montivaga was based on a study of Lesotho specimens (montivaga)
and others from the Karoo regions of the Cape rather than of harei
named from the Philipstown district of the northeastern Cape/Orange
Free State border region. In effect, montivaga is simply a redescription
of harei. Quickelberge (1970) also concluded that montivaga was poorly
differentiated, but again confused the issue by equating harez with the
birds of the Karoo rather than those present to the immediate east and
northeast of this biome.

Conclusions reached as a result of the present enquiry are in close
agreement with the earlier findings of Quickelberge in that three races
require to be recognised, but that, in contrast to Quickelberge’s
arrangement, the race G. m. montivaga will need to be subsumed in the
much earlier G. m. harei, and the Karoo populations—the harei of
certain authors, as stated above—accordingly described as a new race.

Heavy-billed western races

Galerida magnirostris magnirostris (Stephens), 1826: Near Cape
Town, Cape Province.

Alauda crassirostris Vieillot, 1816, pre-occupied by Alauda crassiros-
tris Pennant, 1769.

? Alauda rostro-crassa Wilkes, Encyclopaedia Londinensis, vol. 1 1808,
p. 235 (same Levaillant basis as Alauda magnirostris Stephens, 1826).
See Clancey & Brooke (1990).

Upper-parts with relatively broad black shaft-streaking, the feathers
edged greyish Cinnamon-Buff (Ridgway 1912), imparting a mealy
effect. Below, breast pale yellowish buff, broadly streaked blackish
brown; rest of ventral surface creamy or yellowish white, with the sides
washed and streaked greyish. Bill relatively long and robust, but wing-
and tail-lengths in both sexes shorter than in the other races (Table 1).
Hind-claw >c. 14 mm.

Range. Winter Rainfall District of the southwestern Cape, from
about the lower reaches of the Oliphants R. to Cape Agulhas, eastwards
to about 22°15’E in the southern Cape. Intergrades with G. m.
sedentaria to the immediate east of its stated range, as at Oudtshoorn in
the southern Cape. Coastal birds to the north of the lower Oliphants, as
far as Port Nolloth at 29°14’S, 16°52’E, are like nominate magnirostris in
colouration, but have the longer wing- and tail-lengths of sedentaria.
They are best treated as part of this race.

Remarks. Intergradation between G. m. magnirostris and G. m.
sedentaria in the south of the Cape differs from that described in respect
of birds from north of the lower Oliphants R., in that a sample from
Oudtshoorn, in the Little Karoo, agrees with sedentaria in the rufescent
colouration of both upper- and under-parts. In their average shorter

P. A. Clancey 176 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

wings (in 3 99 101.5, 97, 96.5 mm) they incline, however, towards the
nominate race lying to the west, but in their tails of 58, 63.5 and 64 mm
they correspond entirely with sedentaria of the Karoo system.

Galerida magnirostris sedentaria subsp. nov.

Type. 3, adult. 8 miles west of Khubus (Kuboes), Richtersveld,
lower Orange R., northwestern Cape Province. 19 August 1960;
collected by Dr M. Courtenay-Latimer. In the collection of the East
London Museum, Mus. Reg. No. 8577.

Description. Dorsal streaking browner than in the nominate race
(about Mummy Brown), the feather edges redder (Buckthorn Brown,
versus greyish Cinnamon-Buff). Face more reddish and supercilium
deeper buff. On underside with the ground-colour of the breast deeper
buff (Light Ochraceous-Buff), the streaking often heavier, and the rest
of the venter less clear, more buffy, white. Differs from the nominate
race in having a longer wing and tail, the bill similarly robust; mean
wing of 5 106.7, tail 63.4, 2 100.6 and 60.0, versus 100.7, 58.6, and 96.5,
55.5 mm respectively in nominate race (Table 1).

Measurements of the type. Wing (flattened) 107, tail 63, tarsus 27,
culmen from skull 23, hind-claw 14 mm.

Specimens examined. 70. Namibia: 6.1 miles E of Rosh Pinah;
Lower Orange R., Cape Province: Alexander Bay, Khubus,
Arrisdrift, Vioolsdrif, Namies Mine, Pofadder; Little Namaqualand
and Karoo: Steinkopf, Konkiep, Klipfontein, Springbok, Wallekraal,
Vanrhynspas, Vanrhynsdorp, Nieuwoudtville, Calvinia, Williston,
Fraserburg, Beaufort West, Aberdeen, Oudtshoorn; West Griqua-
land: Rietfontein (Griquatown).

Range: Southwestern Great Namaqualand, Namibia, with records
from Oranjemund and Rosh Pinah, the Richtersveld and _ Little
Namaqualand from the Succulent Karoo of the plateau, eastwards
through the Karoo regions of the Cape interior to about Graaff-Reinet
(32°15’S, 24°32’E), and north of the mid-Orange to the Karoo country
of West Griqualand.

Etymology. Sedentaria from Latin to sit, in allusion to the
nonmigratory disposition of the species.

Remarks. Attention was first drawn to this race in Clancey (1966: 412),
when a more circumscribed range than that now given was favoured.
However, in the Second Supplement to my Catalogue (Clancey 1972)
I adopted Quickelberge’s arrangement of the populations into three
races, which accords in the main with the grouping adopted here.

Short, slender-billed eastern race

Galerida magnirostris haret (Roberts): 1924: Philipstown, north-
eastern Cape.

Calendula magnirostris montivaga Vincent, 1948: Sanqubetu Valley,
northeastern Lesotho.

Differs from G.m. sedentaria in being less rufous over the upperparts,
the dark shaft-streaking Sepia, the light fringes to the feathers dull

P. A. Clancey 177 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

i

15 17 19 21 23 25 7 29
100 50 0 190 200 300 400 Miles

Figure 1. Distribution of the Thick-billed Lark Galerida magnirostris and its three
subspecies: 1, G. m. magnirostris (Stephens); 2, G. m. sedentaria Clancey; 3, G. m. harei
(Roberts). The population of G.m. magnirostris distributed narrowly along the coast north
of c. 31°15’S retains the colour characters of magnirostris but has the longer wing and tail
measurements of sedentaria.

Cinnamon-Buff. Ventrally, breast Light Buff with duller and more
greyish-black streaking; rest of underside yellowish-white, lacking the
sandy nuance, and in this not unlike the nominate race. Bill shorter and
less robust, best marked in the adult male (see Table 1). Hind-claw
ranging shorter in both sexes. The coefficient of difference (Mayr et al.
1953) for both sexes in the bill-length variable compared with
sedentaria is 1.42 (just above 92% joint non-overlap); 86 specimens
utilised.

Range. Distributed generally to the immediate east and northeast of
sedentaria from c. 24°E and the mid- and upper drainage fan of the
Great Fish R. in the eastern Cape to the Orange Free State, Lesotho,
southwestern Transvaal (collected at Bloemhof in the Orange Free
State in September 1987), and the region of the lower Vaal R. in the
eastern sector of the northern Cape. Cold-season altitudinal movement
of high elevation breeders results in occurrence of G.m. harei in western
Natal on occasion.

Remarks. Roberts (1924) gives only a shorter bill as a distinguishing
character for this race, and the range as extending from the Orange
Free State to the central Cape. He gives the exposed culmen-length in
males as 16-18, versus 19-21 in the nominate subspecies, and c. 14-16
and 18.5mm respectively in females. The number of specimens

P. A. Clancey 178 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

available was not given. Three male and two female topotypes or
near-topotypes of hare: from Philipstown (type-locality), Petrusville
district and Philippolis, Orange Free State, had bills from skull 18-20
(19.0), while five montivaga from the alpine heights of the Drakensberg
in the northeastern Cape and Lesotho also had bills 18—20 (18.7) mm.
In a larger sample of material from Lesotho, Quickelberge (1970)
determined the average culmen-length from the skull in males to be
19.4 (n=10) and in females 18.4 (n=4) mm. These data confirm that
there is no taxonomically useful difference in bill-length between the
birds breeding in the mountains of Lesotho and adjacent territories and
those of the northeastern Cape and the western Orange Free State. In
addition, as no difference could be found between Lesotho and eastern
Cape and Orange Free State specimens in either dorsal or ventral

colouration, montivaga of 1948 will require to be treated as a synonym
of harei of 1924.

Acknowledgements

For the loan of additional material to that in the Durban Natural Science Museum I am
indebted to the Ornithologists of the East London Museum and the National Museum of
the Orange Free State, Bloemfontein. Further specimens from the Cape were kindly lent
by the Director of the South African Museum, Cape Town. To all concerned I extend
my thanks. Dr Peter Taylor, Mammologist, of the Durban Museum, kindly assisted with
the statistics.

References:

Clancey, P. A. 1963. Notes, mainly systematic, on some birds from the Cape Province.
Durban Mus. Novit. 8: 248-249.

Clancey, P. A. 1966. A Catalogue of Birds of the South African Sub-Region, part III,
Durban Mus. Novit. 7: 11.

Clancey, P. A. 1972. A Catalogue of Birds of the South African Sub-Region, Suppl. No. 2.
Durban Mus. Novit. 9: 12.

Clancey, P. A. 1989. Taxonomic and distributional findings on some birds from
Namibia. Cimbebasia 11: 120.

Clancey, P. A. & Brooke, R. K. 1990. Avian nomenclatural issues arising from the
publication of Rookmaaker’s Zoological Exploration of Southern Africa 1650-1790.
Ostrich 61: 143-145.

Quickelberge, C. D. 1970. Taxonomic notes on the Thick-billed Lark Calandrella
magnirostris (Stephens). Durban Mus. Novit. 8: 353-362.

Ridgway, R. 1912. Color Standards and Color Nomenclature. The Author, Washington,
D.C.

Roberts, A. 1924. Classification of S. African birds—some additional notes. Ann. Transv.
Mus. 10: 86.

Vincent, J. 1948. New races of a tit-babbler and a lark from the Basutoland Mountains.
Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 68: 145-146.

Winterbottom, J. M. 1957. Systematic notes on birds of the Cape Province, part V.
Ostrich 28: 193-194.

Address: Dr P. A. Clancey, Research Associate, Durban Natural Science Museum, P.O.
Box 4085, Durban 4000, South Africa.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

S. N. G. Howell 179 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

A taxonomic review of the Green-fronted
Hummingbird

by Steve N. G. Howell

Received 6 August 1992

The Green-fronted Hummingbird Amazilia viridifrons is endemic to
southern Mexico in the states of Guerrero, Oaxaca and Chiapas.
Among Mexican and Central American hummingbirds, the combi-
nation of its bright white underparts and bright red, black-tipped bill is
shared only by the Violet-crowned Hummingbird A. violiceps of
northwestern and central Mexico. Like several other Mexican
hummingbirds, the taxonomy and distribution of viridifrons has been
confused in the literature.

Distributional and taxonomic history

Friedmann ez al. (1950) defined the range of A. viridifrons as “Central
Oaxaca and central Guerrero south to Chiapas’. At the same time,
those authors and the A.O.U. (1957) reported the range of the closely
related A. violiceps as extending south to Chiapas. Phillips (1964),
however, in providing the first clear account of the ranges and historical
taxonomy of wiridifrons and violiceps, considered records of wioliceps
from southern Oaxaca and Chiapas equivocal, a conclusion followed
tentatively by Binford (1989) and apparently accepted (without
comment) by A.O.U. (1983) who defined the range of violiceps as
“south to Oaxaca, Puebla and Hidalgo’. My field and museum
investigations have also revealed no viable evidence that violiceps occurs
farther south than Guerrero and northwestern Oaxaca.

Most authors (e.g. A.O.U. 1983, Binford 1989, Friedmann ez al.
1950) have treated viridifrons as a species. Phillips (1964), however,
considered viridifrons as a subspecies of violiceps. He pointed out that
the two forms were not known to breed sympatrically, and that the
overlap in their ranges might be due to unknown movements of A.
violiceps.

In life the two forms are quite distinct, and their call notes are readily
distinguishable: wioliceps gives hard strong chips and _ chatters
reminiscent of Cinnamon Hummingbird A. rutila, while viridifrons
gives distinctly different, soft dry chips and chatters suggesting
Broad-billed Hummingbird Cynanthus latirostris. In addition, A. v.
violiceps, the southern subspecies of Violet-crowned Hummingbird, is
not known to be migratory, although local wandering probably occurs,
e.g. all Oaxaca records to date are between July and October (Binford
1989). While both forms may occur at the same locations in Guerrero,
at least seasonally, they favour different habitats there: violiceps occurs
mainly in tropical arid thorn scrub of the Rio Balsas drainage, while
viridifrons occurs mainly in more temperate arid oak scrub (pers. obs.).
In view of these facts, and that the two forms are visually quite distinct,

S.N. G. Howell 180 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

with no hybrids known, I also consider viridifrons and violiceps as
separate species.

Friedman et al. (1950) considered viridifrons monotypic. Following
explorations in previously unknown areas of southern Oaxaca in the
1960s, Phillips (1964) described the distinctive subspecies A. violiceps
(=viridifrons) wagneri, characterized as “‘redder on the wing, sides,
flanks, sides of crissum and a line bordering the white up to the face
and extending narrowly to the bill. Also [redder] on the tail and edges
of the upper tail-coverts’’ (translated here from the Spanish). He
considered birds from interior Oaxaca (Totolapan to the vicinity of
Nejapa) as intermediate between nominate viridifrons and wagnert.

Binford (1989) most recently discussed viridifrons and pointed out
that “‘wagneri ... apparently separates two identical populations of A.
v. viridifrons’. He suggested the possibility that wagneri might be
specifically distinct “‘if the extreme amount of variation in the intensity
and extent of rusty coloration in wagneri can be accounted for by age
and sex rather than geography’’. It should be noted that Binford (1989)
treated all birds from Totolapan to Nejapa as wagneri (based mostly on
their conspicuously cinnamon flanks rather than a full consideration of
all wagneri characters), although he recognized that many appeared
intermediate between wagneri and viridifrons (L. C. Binford pers.
comm.).

Here I review the taxonomy of A. wviridifrons and describe a new
subspecies of it from central Oaxaca.

Methods and results

I examined 113 specimens of A. wiridifrons, 110 of which were
assembled for direct comparison at the California Academy of Sciences;
these represent virtually all specimens of viridifrons in North American
collections. In addition, between 1983 and 1992 I travelled throughout
the range of the Green-fronted Hummingbird and gained extensive
field experience with it at numerous points between southern Guerrero
and western Chiapas.

When specimens were arranged by geography, sex, and age, four
groupings became apparent: (1) Guerrero and western Oaxaca; (2)
central Oaxaca; (3) southern Oaxaca and western Isthmus of
Tehuantepec; and (4) eastern Oaxaca and Chiapas. However, as
Binford (1989) pointed out, birds from Guerrero and western Oaxaca
are essentially identical to birds from eastern Oaxaca and Chiapas.
Figure 1 shows the distribution in the state of Oaxaca of the three
forms described below.

Sex and to a lesser extent age were determined by the collectors’
labels (apparently almost all correct) supported, for sex, by bill length
(longer in females) and crown colour (typically darker in males, as first
noted by Phillips 1964). Juveniles were identified by bill grooving, a
mostly blackish upper mandible, rusty tips to crown and upperpart
feathers, and distinct pale cinnamon tips to outer rectrices. Immatures
(birds lacking bill grooving and often showing signs of first prebasic
moult) often could be identified by unworn and/or retained pale

S.N. G. Howell 181 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

specimen sight
A. v. viridifrons | O
A. v. rowleyi ©
A. v. viridifrons x rowleyi? *
A. 0? wagneri @ O

18°N
Isthmus

—
----—~__
_—~.

on
es
—~—
~

Pacific

97°W 95°W

Figure 1. Distribution of Green-fronted Hummingbirds in the state of Oaxaca. Dotted
line indicates the range of wagner1, dashed line indicates the ranges of nominate viridifrons
and rowleyi. 1=Putla de Guerrero, 2=km 136. SWR: sympatry of rowleyi and wagneri
(vicinity of Tototalpan SE to Nejapa and El Camaron). SWV: sympatry of nominate
viridifrons and wagneri (12 miles NE of Juchitan).

cinnamon tips to their upperparts and in particular by pale tips to their
outer rectrices.

Colour charts do not treat metallic or iridescent colours, and colour
descriptions in the following accounts are my own interpretations.
Most of the colours should be self-evident, e.g. copper being redder
than bronze, cinnamon being redder than vinaceous, etc. Purplish-
copper indicates copper tinged with purple, etc.

The characters of the birds from these four areas (comprising three
forms) are as follows, including available data on nesting periods
derived from Binford (1989), Rowley (1966, 1984), juvenile specimens,
and personal observations. Immatures examined include juveniles, but
juveniles were excluded from culmen measurements (culmen range
given in mm; followed by mean length).

Amazilia viridifrons viridifrons (Elliot)

Cyanomyia viridifrons Elliot, 1871, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. (4) 8:
267. ““Putla, Mexico’’=Putla de Guerrero, Oaxaca.

Diagnosis. Western population (see range, below). Upperparts.
Crown blackish with oily green to bluish-green sheen in 3; dark green

S. N. G. Howell 182 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

in 2 and immature g. Nape, mantle, and chest sides bright, deep,
emerald green; lower back to upper tail-coverts dull bronzy to
grey-brown. Underparts. Flanks mottled bronzy-green on a dusky to
dusky-vinaceous wash, often with pale cinnamon spots on hind flanks;
vinaceous in flanks strongest in 2 gg (WFVZ 21492, 21537) from
km 136 on the Puerto Escondido Road. Axillars dusky or, in 4 of 6 gg
from Puerto Escondido Road, mixed with pale cinnamon. Under
tail-coverts may have faint dusky pale cinnamon spots on basal coverts
and, less often, faint pale cinnamon shaft streaks on distal coverts.
Wings. Secondaries lack any cinnamon at bases. Marginal wing-coverts
cinnamon to pale cinnamon in 4, dull pale cinnamon in Q. Tail. 3:
burnished copper to purplish-copper with narrow bronzy-green
edgings. Immature ¢: mostly deep purplish with narrow pale cinnamon
tips to outer rectrices. 9: bronzy to greenish-gold, with little or no
burnished copper or purple.

Eastern population. Very much like western birds but 92 and
immatures often have the crown darker (very dark green), five such
individuals showing a slight oily blue-green sheen to the crown; the
flanks and axillars tend to be more extensively whitish with less
bronzy-green spotting and little or no vinaceous wash; tails of ¢¢ and
99 are frequently similar to one another (i.e. ¢¢ having less purple and
°° more copper than western birds); and the bills may average longer.
Due to a larger sample size than the western population, some
characters of eastern birds are given here. Underparts. Flanks and
axillars: in ¢, mostly whitish with some bronzy-green spotting and
usually a slight dusky vinaceous wash (most pronounced on rear flanks
where may become pale vinaceous-cinnamon spots); immature 4
similar but with a stronger vinaceous-cinnamon wash and _ less
bronzy-green spotting; 2 similar to § but averages more whitish with
little or no dusky cinnamon wash; immature @ similar to 2 but with
stronger dusky cinnamon wash. Under tail-coverts usually clean white
but rarely (229 from Chiapas) with faint pale cinnamon spots on basal
coverts. Tail. §: bronzy-copper to (rarely) purplish-copper with narrow
bronzy-green edgings (sometimes indistinct). Immature ¢: purplish-
copper (2 birds) to bronzy (3 birds), with narrow pale cinnamon tips to
outer rectrices. 2: similar to ¢ but averaging more bronzy, less coppery.
Immature 9: purplish-copper with narrow pale cinnamon tips to outer
rectrices.

Despite average differences, some eastern birds appear indistinguish-
able from some western birds of corresponding age and sex and thus I
consider that the eastern population does not warrant subspecific
recognition.

Range. Disjunct. Western population: Guerrero, S and E of the Rio
Balsas, and western Oaxaca, at elevations of 730 to 1400 m. Occurs in
the Sierra Madre del Sur and adjacent arid valleys from the vicinity of
Chilpancingo, Guerrero, E to km 136 on Highway 131, the Puerto
Escondido Road, Oaxaca. Apparent range break between these two
areas may reflect lack of collecting in this remote area. The
westernmost record is San Vicente de Benitez, Guerrero, where I saw
one bird in humid forest edge on 21 and 23 May 1990; apparently only

S.N. G. Howell 183 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

a visitor to this area (pers. obs.). No nesting data. Specimens examined:
933, 2 immature 3g, 429, 1 immature (sex?). Culmen: 11 go (19-22.5,
21.3); 3 QO (21.4-24.2, 22.8).

Eastern population: Pacific slope foothills of eastern Oaxaca (W to 12
miles NE of Juchitan) and western Chiapas, and interior valley of
Chiapas, at elevations of 60-1300 m. The easternmost record is 27 km
by road N of Motozintla, Chiapas, where I saw one bird on 4 January
1992. Nesting in at least Apr-Jun. Specimens examined: 16 3d, 5
immature gd¢, 14922, 1 immature 2. Culmen: 21 go (20.3-23.1; 21.9);
1599 (21.6—24.4; 23.1).

Amazilia viridifrons rowleyi, subsp. nov.

Holotype. WF VZ No. 19600; male (testes 2 X 2 mm) from 13 miles
south of Matatlan (=Santiago Matatlan), Oaxaca, Mexico, elevation
4300 feet; collected by J. S. Rowley on 1 April 1968, original field
number 5540.

Diagnosis. Appears intermediate between A. v. viridifrons and A.
(v2) wagneri but closer to the former from which it differs in more
extensively vinaceous-cinnamon flanks and axillars, duller upperparts,
concealed cinnamon bases to secondaries of adult 3, broader cinnamon
tips to outer rectrices of immature, and less sexual dimorphism in
culmen length, in these last three features approaching wagnert. Readily
distinguished from wagneri by duller and less extensive cinnamon on
flanks and axillars, lack of rufous or dull cinnamon on wings except as
concealed patch in adult ¢, and bronzy to purplish-copper tail.
Upperparts. Crown blackish with oily green to bluish-green sheen in
3g; dark green in 2 and immature ¢. Nape, mantle, and chest sides
bronzy green, duller than nominate wviridifrons, feathers on chest sides
narrowly edged pale vinaceous-cinnamon, more distinctly so in gd;
lower back to upper tail-coverts dull bronzy to grey-brown.
Underparts. Flanks and axillars: in 3, mottled to washed vinaceous-
cinnamon to dull cinnamon, usually with some bronzy-green spotting,
axillars often brighter, vinaceous-cinnamon; immature <4 brighter,
vinaceous-cinnamon to cinnamon with only a few bronzy-green spots;
2 dusky vinaceous-cinnamon, duller than 3, spotted bronzy-green;
immature 2 vinaceous-cinnamon, brighter and with, on average, less
bronzy-green spotting than 9. Under tail-coverts usually (but not
always) with fairly distinct pale cinnamon spots on basal coverts, rarely
with faint pale cinnamon shaft streaks on distal coverts. Wings.
Concealed cinnamon to pale cinnamon bases of secondaries in adult 3,
no concealed cinnamon in 2 or immature. Marginal wing-coverts
cinnamon, brighter in jg. Tail. 3: burnished copper to purplish-
copper with narrow bronzy-green edgings. Immature dg: typically
bronzy basally becoming purplish distally (but one all-bronzy, one
all-purplish), with outer rectrices distinctly tipped cinnamon.
burnished copper with bronzy-green edgings (2 birds) to bronzy
basally, purplish distally (2 birds). Immature 9: coppery-purplish
becoming bronzy basally, with outer rectrices distinctly tipped
cinnamon.

S.N. G. Howell 184 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

Range. Interior Oaxaca in upper reaches of Rio Grande drainage
(specimens from 11 miles S of Santiago Matatlan to Rancho Las
Animas which is 2 miles W of Nejapa); also seen 16, 30, and 62 km by
road SE of Las Animas in Dec 1991 (pers. obs.). Elevations of
600-1500 m. Nesting at least in Dec—Feb. Specimens examined: 15 gd,
11 immature 34, 4 22, 3 immature 99; 13 intergrade between rowleyi
and wagnert (CAS 71888). Culmen: 19 ¢@ (21.1-23.9; 22.2); 4 9
(22.4—23.6; 22.7).

Etymology. Named for the late J. Stuart Rowley in recognition of his
dedicated field studies in Mexico, in particular his work on
hummingbirds in the state of Oaxaca.

Amazilia (viridifrons?) wagneri Phillips

Amazilia violiceps wagneri Phillips, 1964, Rev. Soc. Mex. Hist. Nat.
25: 222. 16°01'N, 97°04’30"W (approximately), Oaxaca.

Diagnosis. Upperparts. Crown blackish (often with oily blue-green
sheen) in 3g, blackish-green in immature ¢, dark green in 9 and
immature 2. Nape emerald green to bronzy-green, back bronzy-green,
rump and upper tail-coverts bronzy, broadly edged cinnamon.
Underparts. Flanks and axillars: in 4, bright cinnamon to
cinnamon-rufous, this colour extending up into auriculars and along
lower edge of lores to bill; immature 3, cinnamon overall paler and less
extensive than 3; 2 paler than ¢ (bright vinaceous-cinnamon), less
extensive in auriculars and loral region; immature 9, cinnamon slightly
brighter than 9, and more extensive on neck and sides. Under
tail-coverts usually with well-defined cinnamon spots on basal coverts
and, less often, with pale cinnamon shaft streaks on distal coverts.
Rarely (2 gd) under tail-coverts clean white (AMNH 815302 from 19
mi. N Puerto Escondido, and LSU 24352 from 18 mi. SE Matatlan).
Wings. Rufous to dull rufous on both webs of secondaries and on outer
webs of inner primaries forms distinct wing panel in ¢; wing panel
duller cinnamon and restricted to secondary bases in immature dg;
rufous restricted to tertial tips and inner webs of secondaries (mostly
concealed) in 9, but rarely (1 2) extending as dull panel on to inner
primaries; dull cinnamon on secondaries concealed in immature 9.
Marginal wing-coverts cinnamon-rufous to cinnamon. Tail. <:
rufous-chestnut, edged bronzy-green. Immature ¢: central rectrices
purplish-copper, edged bronzy-green, outer rectrices chestnut-rufous,
narrowly edged bronzy-green and tipped cinnamon (tips worn). 9:
central rectrices bronzy to bronzy-gold (purplish-copper in 1 9), outer
rectrices rufous, narrowly edged bronzy. Immature 9: central rectrices
bronzy, outer rectrices rufous, edged bronzy-green and distinctly
tipped cinnamon.

Range. Southern Oaxaca, from Pacific slope foothills of the Sierra de
Miahuatlan W to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (E to 12 miles NE of
Juchitan), thence to upper Rio Grande drainage (W to 18 miles S of
Santiago Matatlan), at elevations of 250-900 m. Nesting at least in
Jan—Feb, May, and Aug—Oct. Specimens examined: 13 $4, 1 immature

3, 9 22, 1 immature Q; 1 sex ‘‘?”’ (2?) intergrade between wagner and —

S.N. G. Howell 185 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

rowleyi (LSU 24353). Culmen: 14 ¢ (20.1-23.0; 21.3); 9 2 (20.5-23.7;
pit 7).

Remarks. One specimen (LSU 27433) is labelled 2 but has the tail
pattern and bright wing panel typical of a 3; this bird may be
mislabelled.

Discussion

The distribution of Green-fronted Hummingbirds in southern Mexico
presents an interesting problem. Hubbard (1974) discussed the
mechanisms of glacial fragmentation and differentiation in the
Pleistocene Epoch for several species groups in the arid lands of the
southwestern United States and Mexico. I hypothesize that similar
mechanisms have caused the present distribution of Green-fronted
Hummingbirds in southern Mexico.

The similarity of western and eastern populations of Green-fronted
Hummingbird suggests that the ancestor of the species had, at one
time, a continuous distribution. Glacial advance may have forced this
form into disjunct refugia in the interiors of Guerrero and Chiapas, at
the same time isolating on the Pacific slope of Oaxaca a population that
became wagneri. Glacial retreat then allowed the populations to expand
and secondary contact between wagneri and viridifrons formed a hybrid
swarm that led to the subspecies rowleyz. A second glacial advance again
pushed back wiridifrons to Guerrero and Chiapas and wagneri to the
Pacific slope, but allowed rowley: to remain in the upper Rio Grande
drainage. The situation one sees today reflects a further glacial retreat
by which wagneri and rowleyi have come into secondary contact and
viridifrons has connected with rowley: through the interior of Oaxaca.

The apparent hiatus in the range of Green-fronted Hummingbirds
between western Oaxaca (km 136 on the Puerto Escondido road) and
the upper Rio Grande drainage is an artifact of incomplete collecting.
The one specimen labelled from this area was collected by Mario del
Toro Avilés, purportedly at San Pablo Valle de Mitla, but Binford
(1989) has shown that Avilés’ specimens are notoriously unreliable
and has cast doubt on the specimen’s data. While Green-fronted
Hummingbirds appear to be uncommon in Oaxaca between the ranges
of western viridifrons and rowleyi, there are several records. On 9
January 1987, S. Webb and I found a Green-fronted Hummingbird
feeding a recently fledged juvenile at km 82 (i.e. 82km S of Oaxaca
City) on Highway 175 (the Puerto Angel road); and I saw one bird
(probably an immature) on 20 December 1991 at km 20 on that same
road. At the reservoir 2 km north of Teotitlan del Valle (about 20 km E
of Oaxaca City) I have seen single birds (at least two individuals in
total) in December of 1989, 1990 and 1991. All of these birds were
studied carefully and had a distinct vinaceous to vinaceous-cinnamon
wash on their flanks, although apparently less pronounced than on
rowleyi. Without in-hand examination, however, it was impossible to
determine if these birds were rowleyi or, as might be expected on
geographic grounds, intergrades between viridifrons and rowleyi.

The more strongly vinaceous-cinnamon flanks and axillars of some
birds from km 136 on the Puerto Escondido road probably indicate

S. N. G. Howell 186 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

intergradation between viridifrons and rowleyi. ‘This cinnamon colour
has been suggested (on specimen labels) to indicate intergradation
between wiridifrons and wagneri from the southwestern part of the
Pacific slope. The cinnamon colour is typical, however, of rowleyi, and
the brightest km 136 birds show no other wagneri characters. Further,

while suitable Green-fronted Hummingbird habitat is continuous from |

km 136 through the valley of Oaxaca to the range of rowleyi, the cloud
forest and pine-oak forest of the Sierra de Miahuatlan separate suitable

viridifrons habitat in the interior from wagneri habitat on the Pacific |

slope.

True wagneri may be specifically distinct from A. viridifrons. It is a |
very well-marked form when all characters are considered, in particular |
wing pattern and tail pattern in combination with the striking |

cinnamon sides which (unlike wiridifrons and rowleyi) may be brighter
in adult gg than immature ¢¢.

In eastern Oaxaca, wagneri and A. v. viridifrons appear to be |
sympatric: both were collected 12 miles NE of Juchitan in July 1957. In |
the upper Rio Grande drainage, wagneri and rowleyi are sympatric: |

LSU 24352 (wagneri) from 18 miles SE of Matatlan lies amid 1 WF VZ

specimen of rowley 11 miles S of Matatlan, 7 WFVZ rowley: from 13 |
miles S of Matatlan, 1 WF VZ rowley: from 20 miles S of Matatlan, and |

21 MLZ rowleyi from Rancho las Animas (about 23 miles SE of

Matatlan); 94.6% of specimens from this area are clearly one form or |
the other. A. v. viridifrons does not occur in the upper Rio Grande |

drainage.
Only two specimens, both from the upper Rio Grande drainage,

appear to be intergrades. CAS 71888, a ¢ from Nejapa, differs from |
rowley in the cinnamon of the flanks and axillars being brighter than |
typical and extending up as small spots and flecks into the lower |
auriculars and to the base of the bill. LSU 24353 (labelled wagnerz), of |
unknown sex (but probably a 2 by plumage), from 18 miles S of |
Santiago Matatlan, differs from typical wagneri in the dull and reduced |
cinnamon secondary bases, and in the bronzy-green of the outer |
rectrices extending on to the inner webs, leaving only a small rufous

wedge at the tip of the outer webs.

Finally, specimens of wagneri from the Sierra de Miahuatlan and A. |
v. wiridifrons 40km to the north in interior Oaxaca show no }

unequivocal signs of intergradation (see above).

Further studies should be concentrated at each extreme of the range |
of wagneri to determine the degree of sympatry and interbreeding (if |
any) with other Green-fronted Hummingbirds. If wagneri is considered |
specifically distinct I suggest the English name Cinnamon-sided }

Hummingbird.

Summary

An analysis of the Amazilia viridifrons complex reveals that one form may warrant
specific recognition as A. wagneri, Cinnamon-sided Hummingbird. In addition, I
describe a distinct subspecies of A. v. viridifrons from central Oaxaca. Disjunct western
and eastern populations of viridifrons appear sufficiently similar that separate subspecific

recognition for them is not warranted. Prior to this study, sex and age variation were |

S. N. G. Howell 187 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

poorly understood in A. viridifrons and probably obscured taxonomic recognition of the
forms involved.

Acknowledgements

In the course of this study I learned that J. Stuart Rowley and Jack von Bloeker of the
Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology had been working on the problem of
Amazilia viridifrons and had recognized the subspecific distinctness of the birds I
describe here as rowleyi (L. F. Kiff pers. comm.). Were it not for the untimely death of
Rowley in 1968 (von Bloeker died in 1991), an understanding of the variation in Amazilia
viridifrons would no doubt have appeared sooner.

I thank the curators and collection managers who allowed me to borrow or examine
specimens in their care: Stephen F. Bailey (California Academy of Sciences; CAS); Lloyd
F. Kiff (Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology; WFVZ); John C. Hafner (Moore
Laboratory of Zoology, Occidental College); Steven W. Cardiff (Louisiana State
University; LSU); Richard L. Zusi (United States National Museum); Mary LeCroy
(American Museum of Natural History; AMNH); Robert B. Payne (University of
Michigan); and Ned K. Johnson (Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of
California, Berkeley). I further thank Stephen F. Bailey and Betsey Cutler for logistical
help during my work at CAS. Hector Gomez de Silva helped with field work in
December 1991 and January 1992. Laurence C. Binford kindly shared with me his
museum notes and provided thorough and helpful criticisms of the manuscript. Patrice
Daley helped with preparation of the figure. This is contribution number 557 of the Point
Reyes Bird Observatory.

References:

American Ornithologists’ Union. 1957. Check-list of North American Birds, 5th ed. Lord
Baltimore Press, Baltimore, Maryland.

American Ornithologists’ Union. 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th ed.
American Ornithologists’ Union, Washington, D.C.

Binford, L. C. 1989. A distributional survey of the birds of the Mexican state of Oaxaca.
American Ornithologists’ Union Monographs no. 43.

Friedmann, H., Griscom, L. & Moore, R. T. 1950. Distributional check-list of the birds
of Mexico. Part 1. Pac. Coast Avifauna no. 29: 1-202.

Hubbard, J. P. 1974. Avian evolution in the aridlands of North America. Living Bird 12:
155-196.

Phillips, A. R. 1964. Notas sistematicas sobre aves Mexicanas. III. Rev. Soc. Mex. Hist.
Nat. 25: 217-242.

Rowley, J. S. 1966. Breeding records of birds in the Sierra Madre del Sur of Oaxaca,
Mexico. Proc. West. Found. Vert. Zool. 1: 107-204.

Rowley, J. S. 1984. Breeding records of land birds in Oaxaca, Mexico. Proc. West. Found.
Vert. Zool. 2: 73-224.

Address: Point Reyes Bird Observatory, 4990 Shoreline Highway, Stinson Beach,
California 94970, U.S.A.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

In Brief 188 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

IN BRIEF

A RECENT RECORD OF THE MADAGASCAR POCHARD AYTHYA
INNOTATA ON LAKE ALAOTRA, MADAGASCAR

Langrand (1990) considered the endemic Madagascar Pochard Aythya
innotata one of Madagascar’s “‘rarest and most threatened bird
species’’, and it has been classified in the Red Data Book as endangered
(Collar & Stuart 1985). This species’ known distribution is mostly
confined to the Lake Alaotra region, northeastern Madagascar
(Langrand 1990), where in 1930 it was relatively common (Delacour
1932). Since that time the population of Madagascar Pochards has
drastically declined. The most recent published record of it on Lake
Alaotra is from 1960 (Payne, in Dee 1986); the only later observation
was made in March 1970 on Lake Ambohibao near Antananarivo
(Salvan 1970). Ornithological expeditions were undertaken to Lake
Alaotra in 1971 (Forbes-Watson, in Dee 1986), December 1982.
(Wilmé unpublished), September 1985 (Thompson et al. 1987), 1987
(Wilmé unpublished), October-November 1989 (Young & Smith 1989,
1990), and September-November 1989 and January-February 1990
(Wilmé in prep.), some designed specifically to search for the
Madagascar Pochard, but it was not seen. The possible reasons for its
decline on Lake Alaotra have been discussed by Young & Smith (1989)
and Wilmé (in prep.).

Given that more than 20 years have passed since the last confirmed
record of the Madagascar Pochard on Lake Alaotra, even after intensive
ornithological surveys of the region, it was most astonishing that one
was captured alive on the lake by some fowlers in August 1991. The
bird, a male in adult plumage, was netted on 29 August 1991 along the
western-central edge of Lake Alaotra, near the village of Anororo
(17°30'S, 48°26’E), in a region known locally as ‘‘Mahakary’’.
Measurements (in mm) of the live bird include: exposed culmen 46.5,
tarsus 57.5; weight 685 g. In July 1992 the primaries, secondaries and
tail were in complete moult.

The fowlers responsible for the bird’s capture have many years’
experience trapping ducks on Lake Alaotra, and regularly catch up to
sixty birds per week with mist-nets placed in or near rice fields. After
the Madagascar Pochard was caught, it was shown to other active
fowlers and fishermen in the immediate vicinity of Anororo, and no one
was familiar with the species. The local fowlers were acquainted with a
public education programme about the Madagascar Pochard initiated
in 1989 by me in the Lake Alaotra area (Wilmé in prep.), and thus they
understood the importance of their find. The duck was transferred to
Antananarivo on 30 September 1991, where it is currently held in an
aviary.

The finding of a single Madagascar Pochard on Lake Alaotra
indicates that a remnant population may still exist. Whether this
species is an extremely rare permanent resident on the lake or breeds
elsewhere and is a seasonal migrant to the area is unknown. An
intensive survey is needed of the remaining lakes and natural wetlands
of the island to determine the status of the Madagascar Pochard and

In Brief 189 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

other threatened wetland fauna. The results of this survey can then be
used to recommend which wetlands should be given some protection
by the Malagasy authorities in the context of the Ramsar Convention
(Koester 1989) (still to be ratified in Madagascar). Currently there is no
freshwater wetland protected in Madagascar (Nicoll & Langrand 1989).

I would especially like to thank Mr Steve Goodman who provided assistance and advice
since the capture of the Pochard, as well as Dr Sheila O’Connor and Mr Olivier
Langrand from World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Aires Protégées, Madagascar.

References:

Collar, N. J. & Stuart, S. N. 1985. Threatened Birds of Africa and Related Islands: The
ICBP/IUCN Red Data Book, 3rd edition. Cambridge: ICBP/IUCN. :

Dee, T. J. 1986. The Endemic Birds of Madagascar. Cambridge: ICBP.

Delacour, J. 1932. Les oiseaux de la mission zoologique Franco-Anglo-Américaine a
Madagascar. Ozseau 2: 1-96.

Koester, V. 1989. The Ramsar Convention on the Conservation of Wetlands. Gland:
IUCN.

Langrand, O. 1990. Guide to the Birds of Madagascar. Yale Univ. Press.

Nicoll, M. E. & Langrand, O. 1989. Madagascar: Revue de la conservation et des aires
protégées. Gland: WWF.

Salvan, J. 1970. Remarques sur |’évolution de l’avifaune malgache depuis 1945. Alauda
37: 191-203.

Thompson, P. M., Raxworthy, C. R., Murdoch, D. A., Quansah, N. & Stephenson, P. J.
1987. Zahamena Forest (Madagascar) Expedition 1985. ICBP Study Report No. 20.

Wilmé, L. (in prep.) Status, distribution and conservation of two Madagascar bird
species endemic to Lake Alaotra: Delacour’s Grebe (Tachybaptus rufolavatus) and
Madagascar Pochard (Aythya innotata). Biological Conservation (ms. in review).

Young, H. G. & Smith, J. G. 1989. The search for the Madagascar Pochard Aythya
innotata: Survey of Lac Alaotra, Madagascar October-November, 1989. Dodo 26:
17-34.

Young, H. G. & Smith, J. G. 1990. Notes on an expedition to relocate the Madagascar
Pochard Aythya innotata— a JWPT, WWF, WWT project. Wildfowl 41: 159-160.

Missouri Botanical Garden, LUCIENNE WILME
B.P. 3391, Antananarivo (101),
Madagascar. 15 July 1992

THE AUTHORSHIP OF THE NAME OF THE BRITISH RACE OF THE
CHAFFINCH

In Falco 5, 1909, p.13, Pastor Otto Kleinschmidt described an
intersexual variant of the Chaffinch from western Europe (Germany
and the British Isles) under the trinomen Fringilla caelebs gengleri,
form. nov., designating as its type an adult ¢ from Hampstead,
London, dated 22 June 1869 (ex Bowdler Sharpe collection). In 1933
the Dutch workers P. A. Hens & J. G. van Marle showed that the
Chaffinches of the British Isles warranted recognition subspecifically on
the browner, less vinaceous, red colour of the ear-coverts and underside
in breeding males, adopting for them Kleinschmidt’s name of 1909.
Later, Witherby, Handbook of British Birds, vol. 1, 1938, pp. 104-107,
Vaurie, Birds of the Palearctic Fauna, Passeriformes, 1959, p. 595, and
other senior authors adopted Hens and van Marle’s proposal and

In Brief 190 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

recognised the British birds as discrete from those of the continent
under the name F. c. gengleri Kleinschmidt, overlooking the fact that
the said name of 1909 is an infrasubspecific epithet, and as such is not
available in nomenclature.

Article 50 (c) (1) of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature,
3rd edition, 1985, specifies that “if an infrasubspecific name [proposed
prior to 1961] that otherwise satisfies the criteria of availability is used
for a species or subspecies, the author is the one who first so uses it’’.
Consequently, the trinomen F’. c. gengleri is to be attributed to Hens &
van Marle, who elevated Kleinschmidt’s form. nov. to that of a
subspecies in Orgaan der Club van Nederlandsche Vogelkundigen, 6,
No. 2, 1933, pp.49-58, the type-locality Hampstead, London,
England. Apart from the indigenous British Isles populations, F. c.
gengleri has been introduced to the southwestern Cape Province of
South Africa and the islands of New Zealand. The type of the
subspecies dealt with here is in the Museum Alexander Koenig, Bonn,
and is No. 399 in the Kleinschmidt collection housed in that centre.

I am grateful to Dr Renate van den Elzen of the Museum Alexander Koenig for her ready
help in this enquiry.

Durban Natural Science Museum, P. A. CLANCEY
P.O. Box 4085,

Durban 4001,

South Africa. 30 September 1992

A NEW NAME FOR MYRMECIZA IMMACULATA BERLEPSCHI
(FORMICARIIDAE)

With the transfer of Pyriglena (later Sipia) berlepschi Hartert, 1898,
to the genus Myrmeciza (see Robbins & Ridgely 1991, Bull. Brit. Orn.
Cl. 111: 11-18), the name Myrmeciza berlepschi Ridgway, 1909 (now
used for a valid subspecies of M. immaculata) becomes preoccupied.
We therefore rename the latter form as follows:

Myrmeciza immaculata macrorhyncha, nom. nov. for Myrmeciza
berlepschi Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 22 (1909): 74,
preoccupied in Myrmeciza by Pyriglena berlepschi Hartert, Bull. Brit.
Orn. Cl. 7 (1898): xxix. We chose the name macrorhyncha, as the large
bill is one of the prominent characters that distinguishes trans- from
cis-Andean birds.

We thank Niels Krabbe for pointing out this nomenclatural problem, and, once again, we
are indebted to Kenneth Parkes for his inestimable advice on nomenclatural protocol.

Dept. of Ornithology, Academy of Natural MARK B. ROBBINS
Sciences, ROBERT S. RIDGELY
1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103,
U.S.A. 14 October 1992

In Bnef 191 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

VALIDATION OF SOME NEWLY PROPOSED NAMES FOR FRANCOLINS
(PHASIANIDAE)

In a recently published revision of the phasianid genus Francolinus
and some relatives (Auk 109: 2442) four new subgeneric names were
introduced on p. 37, with characters purporting to differentiate the
taxa. Unfortunately, type species for these subgenera were not
nominated and the opportunity is now taken to do so.

Within the genus Francolinus Stephens, 1811, as now understood,
three subgenera were recognized, of which one, Limnocolinus, is new.
The type species is Perdix gularis 'Temminck, 1815 by monotypy.

Within the genus Pternistis Wagler, 1832, as now understood, seven
subgenera were recognized of which three are new. The first is
Notocolinus for which I now designate as type species Tetrao capensis
Gmelin, 1789, the constituent species with the most southerly range.
The second is Squamatocolinus for which I now designate as type
species Francolinus squamatus Cassin, 1857, by virtual tautonomy. The
third is Oreocolinus for which I now designate as type species
Francolinus nobilis Reichenow, 1908.

FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town, T. M. CROWE
Rondebosch 7700,
South Africa. 10 November 1992

BREEDING OF THE LAVENDER FIREFINCH

The shy and secretive nature of the nesting Lavender Firefinch
Estrilda caerulescens in Senegal, remarked upon by Dr Baillon (Bull.
Brit. Orn. Cl. 112 (1992): 274-275), does not seem to be the experience
in The Gambia. Gore (1990, Birds of the Gambia, B.O.U. Checklist,
revised ed.) describes Estrilda caerulescens as a ‘“‘not uncommon
resident” found throughout The Gambia; breeding recorded from
August to October.

In the Lower River region of The Gambia the Lavender Firefinch is
a common garden bird, often occurring in small flocks, as Dr Baillon
notes, with other estrildines. There are many records of nest-building
there in August and September (T. V. Sims, S. Tulloch and R. Parsons,
pers. comm.), particularly in citrus trees; and the nest, but not the eggs,
has been described from observations made in the compound of the
Medical Research Council at Fajara, 13°40’N 16°50’W (Moore 1983,
Malimbus 5: 56). Birds nesting in this well-frequented area were not
easily disturbed; one nest was built within 2 m, and in full sight of, an
open window.

Further observations made in 1983 showed that a variety of materials
was used for nest-building. The main part of the globe built of seeding
grasses took three days to complete. Lining with longer, more lax,
grasses followed; one bird carrying the material to the nest entrance
where the second bird could be seen to receive it. Other materials
carried to the nest at this stage included Asparagus plumosus and

In Brief 192 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(3)

branchlets of Casuarina equisetifolia. By the end of each rainy season
the nests had become dilapidated but were often occupied, as were
discarded nests of other species, by roosting E. caerulescens. By October
1983 parties of adults and juveniles had been identified in the
compound. The usual number in the groups was 5, 2 adults and 3
juveniles, which might suggest that the clutch number is indeed 3.

1 Uppingham Road, AMBERLEY MOORE
Oakham,
Rutland LE15 6JB, U.K. 23, January 1993

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

BOOKS RECEIVED

Beavers, R. A. 1992. The Birds of Tikal. Pp. x+153, 3 maps, 16 black-and-white photo-
graphs. Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 0-89096-525-0 (cloth), 0-89096-518-8
(paper). No price given; obtainable from Texas A&M University Press, College Station,
Texas 77843-4354. 16.5 x 10 cm.

A well-documented annotated checklist, suitable for the pocket, covering not only the
Tikal National Park but also the whole of the Department of Petén, Guatemala, in which
‘Tikal is situated. The data are presented in tabulated form, with status shown by quarter-
month periods (thus useful as indicating the times when migrant species are present),

supplemented by three appendices and a more fully annotated list of the species not treated
in Smithe’s (1966) Birds of Tikal.

Erskine, A. J. 1992. Atlas of Breeding Birds of the Maritime Provinces. Pp. x +270, maps,
tables. Nimbus Publishing Ltd. (P.O. Box 9301, Station A, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
B3K 5N5). ISBN 1-55109-010-4. $(Cdn) 29.95. 27 x 20 cm.

Covering Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, this is the first
Canadian breeding bird atlas based on the 10 x 10 km grid-square mapping scale used for
many European atlases. For each species there is also a small inset map on a 20 x 20 km grid,
allowing a clearer picture of overall distribution. There are overlays showing land use, main
forest types, distribution of human population etc., and several chapters of analysis and
discussion follow the main systematic section.

Mackinnon, J. & Phillipps, K. 1993. A Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo, Sumatra, Java and
Bali. Pp. xvit+491, 88 colour plates. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-854034-5.
£25.00 (paperback; also available in hardback). 20 x 14 cm.

Covering the Greater Sunda Islands, biologically one of the richest areas in the world, this
is a logical new addition to the now nearly complete coverage of the world by comprehen-
sive, well-illustrated field guides. After the usual introductory sections, the main part of the
book covers the 820 species known from the area. The 88 colour plates, by Karen Phillipps,
are small but well drawn, faithfully coloured and clear, and should be adequate for identifi-
cation except perhaps for some very difficult species. There are 48 pages of appendices, anda
10-page bibliography.

Roberts, T. J. 1992. The Birds of Pakistan. Vol. 2 Passerines. Pp. xxxv+617. 24 colour
plates, drawings and maps. ISBN 0-19-577405-1 (hardback). £40.00. 26 x 21 cm.

For a review of the first volume of this excellent work, see Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 111(1991):
176. Little more needs to be said about the passerine volume, which completes the work, as
it follows the same plan and maintains the high standard of the non-passerine volume.
For European ornithologists, there is a special interest in the fact that a number of west
Palaearctic species reach their southeastern breeding limits in northern or western Pakistan,
and that for other species it is an important wintering area.

NOTICE TO CONTRIBUTORS

Papers, from Club Members or non-members, should be sent to the Editor, Dr
D. W. Snow, The Old Forge, Wingrave, Aylesbury, Bucks HP22 4PD, U.K., and
must be offered solely to the Bulletin. They should be typed on one side of the
paper, with treble-spacing and a wide margin, and submitted in duplicate. The
style and lay-out should conform with usage in this or recent issues of the Bulletin.

A contributor is entitled to 10 free offprints of the pages of the Bulletin in which his
contribution, if one page or more in length, appears. Additional offprints or offprints of
contributions of less than one page may be ordered when the manuscript is submitted and
will be charged for. Authors may be charged for proof corrections for which they are
responsible.

BACK NUMBERS OF THE BULLETIN

Available on application to the Hon. Treasurer, as below (Vol. 93 onwards, 4
issues per year; Vols. 89-92, 6 issues per year; Vols. 89 and earlier, generally 9
issues per year): 1993 and after (Vols. 113 onwards) £4.50 each issue; 1983-92
(Vols. 103-112) £4 each issue; 1981-2 (Vols. 101 & 102) £3.50 each issue; 1980
(Vol. 100) No. 1 £4.50, Nos. 2,3 & 4 £2.50 each issue; 1973-9 (Vols. 93-99) £2.50
each issue; 1969-72 (Vols. 89-92) £2 each issue; 1929-68 (Vols. 50—88) £1.20 each
issue; Vol. 49 and before £2.50 each issue.

Indices: Vol. 70 and after £1.50 each; Vols. 50-69 £2.50 each; Vol. 49 and
before £6 each.

Long runs (10 years or more) for Vol. 50 and after are available at reduced rates
on enquiry. Postage and packing extra. Orders over £50 post free. Special issue

Vol. 112A, 1992, in hardback, 300p, £32, inc. p&p.

MEMBERSHIP
Only Members of the British Ornithologists’ Union are eligible to join the
Club; applications should be sent to the Hon. Treasurer, as below, together with
the annual subscription (£8.50 or, if preferred, U.S. $22 for 1993, postage and
index free). Changes of address and any correspondence concerning membership
should be addressed to the Hon. Treasurer.

SUBSCRIPTION TO THE BULLETIN
The Bulletin (Vol. 113 onwards) may be purchased by non-members on pay-
ment of the annual subscription (£18 or, if preferred, U.S. $40 for 1993, postage
and index free). Applications should be sent to the Hon. Treasurer. Single issues
may be obtained as back numbers.

PAYMENTS TO HON. TREASURER

Payments should be sent to the Hon. Treasurer, S. J. Farnsworth, Hammerkop,
Frogmill, Hurley, Maidenhead, Berks SL6 5NL, U.K., or credited direct to the
Club’s bank account—No. 10211540, Sort Code 200087, at Barclays Prime
Account, P.O. Box 125, Northampton NN1 1SO, U.K., with confirmation to the
Hon. Treasurer. All payments are net and should be in Sterling if possible.
Payment in other currencies must include a further £3 for U.K. Bank Charges
(except for annual rates in U.S. Dollars which are inclusive).

CORRESPONDENCE
Correspondence about Club Meetings and on all other matters should go to
the Hon. Secretary, Mrs A. M. Moore, 1 Uppingham Road, Oakham, Rutland
LE15 6JB, U.K.

CONTENTS

Page
CLUBNOTICES Meetings, Chairman’s Address, Accounts........ 129
GREGORY, P. A. & JOHNSTON,G.R. Birds ofthecold tropics: Dokfuma,
Star Mountains, New Guinea... >) .25.... ..5. ss oe 139
WALTERS, R. Some records of birds from Belize, Central America,
including three first records. ...5.=1.0 00 44> e ae 145
LOUETTE, M. & HERROELEN, P. Status of migratory Cuculus cuckoos
IN) -Zalres Seo Ne ois oi Oka ew hae eee 147
VUILLEUMIER, F. Notes on birds observed in beech (Fagus) forests
in the Maoershan Natural Reserve, Guangxi Autonomous
Region; Chinas ee 8 aaa Seas Oe ae ee 152
PETERSON, A.T. Species status of Geotrygon carrikeri ............ 166
CHRISTIDIS, L. & SCHODDE, R. Sexual selection for novel partners: a
mechanism for accelerated morphological evolution in the
birds-of-paradise (Paradisaeidae)-- 55 5)--. 4. = fee 169
CLANCEY, P. A. Subspeciation in the austral African Thick-billed
Teark oi eee Bee eg eee er 173
HOWELL, S. N. G. A taxonomic review of the Green-fronted
Hummingbird... oo. oe ee ee 179
In Brief wi_mMe,L. A recent record of the Madagascar Pochard
Aythya innotata in Lake Alaotra, Madagascar ..... 188
CLANCEY,P.A. ‘The authorship of the name of the British
raceof the Chaflinch 42. 0.0602 Oe o ae eeee 189
ROBBINS, M. B. & RIDGELY, R.S. Anewname for Myrmeciza
immaculata berlepschi (Formicariidae) ............ 190
CROWE,T.M. Validation of some newly proposed names
for francolins|(Phasianidae)i) 44. 3s ee eee 194
MOORE, A. Breeding of the Lavender Firefinch........ NS),
BOOKS/RECEIVED #2 386g Oo braice ae he ain een UG lle cr 192

The Bulletin is despatched from the printers on publication and is sent by Surface Saver
Postal Services to all European destinations outside the U.K. and by Air Saver Postal Services
to destinations outside Europe. Those whose subscriptions have not been received by the
beginning of a month of publication will have their copies despatched by surface mail, after
their current subscription has been paid.

COMMITTEE
D. Griffin (Chairman) (1993) Revd T. W. Gladwin ( Vice-Chairman) (1993)
Dr D. W. Snow (Editor) (1991) S. J. Farnsworth ( Treasurer) (1990)
Mrs A. M. Moore (Hon. Secretary) (1989) Cdr M. B. Casement, OBE, RN (1990)
Dr J. F. Monk (1991) Dr R. A. Cheke (1991)

R. E. F. Peal (1993)

Printed on acid-free paper.

Published by the BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB and printed by
Henry Ling Ltd., at the Dorset Press, Dorchester, Dorset

ISSN 0007-1595
Bulletin of the

British Ornithologists’ Club

Edited by
Dr D. W. SNOW

Volume113 No.4 December 1993

FORTHCOMING MEETINGS

Tuesday, 18 January 1994. Mr John Burton will show a pro-
gramme of films of ornithological interest which he has retrieved
from the National Film Archive. John Burton was commissioned in
1989 to undertake a feasibility study for establishing an Environmental
Record Archive in the course of which some of the earliest wildlife films
were viewed. His compilation includes film of St Kilda in the 1900s and
Great Bustards in Hungary in the 1930s. He was formerly the Executive
Secretary of the Flora and Fauna Preservation Society.

Those wishing to attend are asked to notify the Hon. Secretary by
Tuesday, 4 January 1994*.

Tuesday, 22 February 1994. Mr Martin Woodcock will speak on
“3 Tropical Forests’”—a montane and a lowland forest in East
Africa and a montane forest in West Africa. Martin Woodcock has
contributed text and illustrations to anumber of important ornithological
publications since 1975 and his work has been selected for exhibition in
several countries. He was Honorary Secretary of the Club for 1965-1969.

Those wishing to attend are asked to notify the Hon. Secretary by
Tuesday, 8 February 1994*.

It is hoped to arrange a second Club visit in April 1994 to Tring
Museum for those members who were unable to join the visit in
June this year. Please see the enclosed leaflet for details.

Tuesday, 19 April 1994. John Wyatt J.P. will speak on “Birds of
Eastern Poland”’. John Wyatt is a naturalist, writer and photographer.
He leads wildlife tours in Europe and Africa and has a particular interest
in Poland. He was formerly a Deputy Director of Development of the
British Trust for Ornithology.

Those wishing to attend are asked to notify the Hon. Secretary by
Tuesday, 5 April 1994*.

Tuesday, 24 May 1994. Annual General Meeting at 6 p.m. followed
by the evening meeting when Dr Peter Lack will speak on “‘Birds and
Farming’’.

Tuesday, 19 July 1994. Mr Richard French will speak on
“Sounds of Birds in the Neotropics’’.

Meetings are held in the Sherfield Building of Imperial College, South
Kensington, London at 6.15 p.m. for 7 p.m. A map showing Imperial
College will be sent to members on request.

*Late acceptances and cancellations can usually be taken up to the
Thursday morning preceding a meeting, although members are asked to
accept by 14 days beforehand as arrangements for meetings have to be
confirmed with Imperial College well in advance.

If you accept and subsequently find you are unable to attend please notify
the Hon. Secretary, 1 Uppingham Road, Oakham, Rutland LE15 67B
(tel. 0572 722788) as soon as possible as the booking can often be offered to
another member.

193 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

Bulletin of the
BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB

Vol. 113 No. 4 Published 30 December 1993

The eight hundred and thirtieth meeting of the Club was held on 30 June 1993 at the
Sub-department of Ornithology of the Natural History Museum, at Tring. 14 Members
and 7 Guests attended.

Members attending were: D. GRIFFIN (Chairman), M. A. Apcock, Miss H. Baker, Dr
R. A. Cuexe, A. Gipss, Rev. T. W. GLapwin, F. P. LITTLEMorE, Dr J. F. Monk, D. J.
Montier, Mrs A. M. Moore, R. G. Morean, R. E. F. Peat, Dr R. SELF, N. H. F.
STONE.

Guests attending were: Mrs B. Apcock, Mrs J. GLapwin, Mrs B. Gisss, Ms K. Horr,
Mrs D. Monk, Mrs M. Montier, P. J. Moore.

After a welcome and introduction to the Tring Museum by Mr Iain Bishop, Deputy
Keeper of Zoology and Curator of the Walter Rothschild Zoological Museum, Dr Robert
Prys-Jones described the work of the Bird Group of the Natural History Museum, all of
whom are based at Tring. The visitors were then split into four groups to view, in turn,

_ the library, the egg collection, the skin collection and the anatomical collection. Between
_ tours an excellent buffet lunch was enjoyed.

The Librarian, Mrs Effie Warr, had selected for display a wealth of fascinating
ornithological books, which could only be handled after donning special gloves. In
addition to the sight of rare volumes with exquisite plates, the general collection and
journal holdings were also viewed. Particular attention had been paid to providing
glimpses of items of special interest to members, including, for instance, the manuscript
of an unpublished autobiography by David Bannerman.

The egg collections were shown by Michael Walters. The extensive holdings, sadly
depleted by a felonious visitor in the recent past, include eggs of extinct birds (e.g. Great
Auk Alca (Pinguinis) impennis, examples of candidate species only known from their eggs
such as Stair’s Megapode Megapodius stairi and Burnaby’s Megapode M. burnabyi, rare
cluthes (e.g. Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea, and artificial eggs for duping
collectors to part with their money. Other delights included examples of Cuckoo Cuculus
canorus eggs, with each variant together with the host’s clutch, and the clutch of the
Emperor Penguin Aptenodytes forsteri collected by the Antarctic explorer Cherry-
Garrard.

Peter Colston introduced the skin collection, which comprises more than 1 000 000
specimens, and explained the cataloguing, labelling and treatment of the 8000 types. Of
topical interest, he explained with relevant skins how the validity of the recently
described warblers Phylloscopus sichuanensis and P. hainanus relied, amongst other
criteria, On comparisons with the Museum’s holdings of related Phylloscopus species.
Specimens of historical interest, such as collections from Darwin’s H.M.S. Beagle
expedition and specimens used by Audubon for his paintings, provided further
fascination.

The extensive anatomical collections of skeletons and specimens in spirit were
described by Miss Jo Bailey. The spirit collections abounded with birds collected by past
and present members of the Club. Of great interest was Miss Bailey’s demonstration of
how dead birds are stripped to leave only the bare bones. The hard work is delegated to
beetles (Dermestes maculatus) which are carefully nurtured in purpose-built surroundings
well away from the main skin collections.

Thanks are due to Mr Bishop, Dr Prys-Jones, Mr Colston, Mr Walters, Miss Bailey
and Mrs Warr for a fascinating and rewarding day, providing a vivid behind-the-scenes
view to supplement the recent description of the Museum’s work given by Knox and
Walters in Bull. B.O.C. 112A: 169-190.

The eight hundred and thirty-first meeting of the Club was held on Tuesday, 27 July
1993 in the Ante-room of the Sherfield Building, Imperial College, South Kensington at
6.15 pm. 24 Members and 13 Guests attended. The speaker, Professor C. W. T. PILcHER,
was a Guest of the Club.

Meetings 194 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

Members attending were: D. GRIFFIN (Chairman), M. A. Apcock, B. H. Beck, Mrs D.
BraDLey, D. R. CaLpger, Cdr. M. B. CASEMENT, RN Retd, Professor R. CHANDLER, P. J.
ConpDeER, S. J. FARNSworTH, Rev. T. W. GLapwin, C. A. R. HELM, S. Howe, M. C.
JENNINGS, I. T. Lewis, N. S. Matcotm, Dr J. F. Monk, D. J. MontTigerR, Mrs A. M.
Moore, Mrs M. Mutter, R. E. F. Peat, Dr R. C. Ser, N. H. F. Stone, Professor W.E.
Waters, Mrs F. E. Warr.

Guest attending were: Professor Charles PILCHER (Speaker), Mrs B. Apcock, Miss S.
Apcock, J. N. B. Brown, Mrs C. CarNALLy, J. CARNALLY, Mrs F. FarNswortu, Dr D.
FoskeTT, Mrs J. GLapwIn, Ms K. Horr, Mrs S. L. Lewis, Mrs M. Montirr, P. J.
Moore, J. WarRR.

After supper Professor Pilcher spoke on the avifauna of Kuwait. It includes a high
percentage of Asian and African migrants, due to the geographical accident of Kuwait’s
postion on the Balkan/Pakistan and Asian/African migratory routes. He demonstrated
some of the effects of the heavy pollution caused by the Gulf War in Kuwait Bay and at
two inland freshwater sites. The increase in rainfall since the war has resulted in some
regeneration of the region and earlier conservation programmes have been renewed.

The eight hundred and thirty-second meeting of the Club was held on Tuesday, 21
September 1993 in the Rector’s House, Imperial College, South Kensington at 6.15 pm.
24 Members and 12 Guests attended.

Members attending were: D. GRIFFIN (Chairman), Dr G. W. H. Davison (Speaker),
M. A. Apcock, Mrs D. M. Brap.ey, D. R. CALDER, Dr R. A. CHEKE, S. J. FARNSWORTH,
A. Gisss, Rev. T. W. GLapwin, C. A. R. Heim, K. W. HENSHALL, R. H. Ketr_e, Dr R.
LIvERSIDGE, Dr C. F. Mann, Dr J. F. Monk, Mrs A. M. Moore, R. G. Morcan, Mrs
M. Mutter, P. J. O_tver, J. G. PARKER, N. RepmMan, R. E. Scott, Dr R. SELF, N. H. F.
STONE.

Guests attending were: Mrs B. Apcock, I. R. Bishop, Mrs G. BonHam, Mrs J.
Caper, Mrs F. FarNswortuH, Mrs J. GLapwin, Miss J. Goucu, Ms K. Horr, Mrs V.
LIvERSIDGE, Dr H. LiversipGeE, Mrs D. Monk, P. J. Moore.

The speaker was Dr Geoffrey Davison, who gave a most interesting account of his
work on the pheasants of the Malaysian rainforest, illustrated with slides and with
imitations of calls of the birds. He began by illustrating several of the species of Argus
and Peacock-pheasants to be found there, and suggested that the smaller, duller species
are the most biologically interesting.

The Great Argus is an extremely large pheasant, nearly always solitary, in which most
fully adult-plumaged males each maintain one cleaned display area during the breeding
season. Females (possibly territorial) are attracted to arenas by the males’ loud calls, but
the distances between solitary males make it unlikely that visual comparisons are made.
Males on hill tops, whose calls carry farther, may be able to attract more mates. The
display is prolonged and vigorous, and the chief means of competition between males
may be for access to sites which can be cleared for uninhibited display.

The Malaysian Peacock-pheasant has many features uncommon or unique amongst
pheasants, chief amongst them a one-egg clutch. This is part of a syndrome of longevity,
intensive care of the young, and possibly deferred maturity.

Combining features from the high productivity characteristic of most Galliformes
together with the intensive chick care characteristic of Peacock-pheasants, the Crested
Wood-partridge has more diverse and elaborate chick care than any other species, but
splits the brood between male and female parents. Together, the various pheasant and
partridge species illustrate a range of solutions to reproduction within a_ hostile
environment.

Cobb’s Wren on beach boulder, Kidney Island, Falkland Islands, November 1960
(photograph: R. W. Woods)

EE

R. W. Woods 195 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

Cobb’s Wren Troglodytes (aedon) cobbi of the
Falkland Islands

by R. W. Woods

Received 2 November 1992

The single Falkland Islands species in the genus Tvroglodytes was
described at the 153rd meeting of the British Ornithologists’ Club on
20 October 1909. Mr Charles Chubb communicated, through Dr R.
Bowdler Sharpe, a description “‘of a new species of Wren from the
Falkland Islands, where it had been discovered by Mr A. F. Cobb’’.
Chubb (1909) named this wren Tvoglodytes cobbi, and his description
reads as follows:

TROGLODYTES COBBI, sp. n.
Similis T. hornensi, sed valde major: supra cinerascenti-brunneus,
gutture et pectore toto cinerascenti-isabellinis. Long. tot. c.5.4 poll.,
culm. 0.85, alae 2.8, caudae 1.75, tarsi 0.75. Obs. In T.. hornensis, Less.,
the bill is only 0.6 inch and the tarsus 0.7, so that T’. cobbi seems to be
a large insular form.

There are no further comments on the species in this issue of the
Bulletin, and Cobb did not include this wren in either of his two short
books on Falklands wildlife and birds (1910, 1933).

Since its discovery, Cobb’s Wren has been treated as a species only
by Chapman & Griscom (1924), Bennett (1926), Chapman (1934) and
Bennett (1935). In discussing its affinities, Chapman & Griscom used
specimens collected in 1915-16 by R. H. Beck. They concluded that it
was obviously a representative house wren but was sharply distinct
from continental races because it was almost as dark below as above,
was noticeably large, and occupied an insular habitat. They felt that it
deserved specific rank, and Chapman (1934) reiterated this opinion
when he stated that T. cobbi was “‘A specifically distinct representative
of the continental Troglodytes musculus’. Hellmayr (1921), however,
although he had not seen any skins of Cobb’s Wren, treated it as a
subspecies of the mainland JT. musculus (later usually merged with
North American T. aedon), and this has been accepted by most later
authors. Later, after examining the AMNH skins of Cobb’s Wren,
Hellmayr (1934) stated that they were nearest in colour to JT. m.
bonariae of eastern Argentina, Uruguay and extreme southern Brazil,
rather than the geographically nearest race in southern Argentina and
Chile, T. m. chilensis, in which he included T. m. magellanicus. He
noted that the ‘“‘Falkland Wren”’ was very much larger with a much
stronger, longer bill and had no buff postocular streak, yet he
maintained his original classification of it as a race of T’. musculus.

Dimensions of Cobb’s Wren
The measurements of live-trapped Cobb’s Wrens, presented in
Table 1, were obtained during field work on Kidney Island (51°38'S,

R. W. Woods 196 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

TABLE 1
Measurements (mm) of Cobb’s Wrens ringed on Kidney,
Bleaker or George Islands between 21 November 1959 and
16 March 1963

n Range Mean s.d.
Wing 19 52-63 56.2 Beil 7/
Bill 18 13-20 17.9 1.77
‘Tarsus 16 15.5—20 17.9 1k29
Tail 2 41-42 41.5 0.71
Body length 5 130-140 134 3
Weights (g) 7 Vi—2.0 LOM 1.02

Bill length was taken from the side with dividers pressed
along the culmen to the skull.

57°44'W) 11 km (7 miles) northeast of Stanley, East Falkland, between
November 1959 and March 1963, and from R. Reid (in litt.) who
trapped, ringed and measured several specimens on George Island
(52°21'S, 59°45’W) and Bleaker Island (52°12’S, 58°51’°W) in 1961.
Chapman & Griscom’s (1924) measurements fall within the ranges
shown in Table 1, except for their tail-lengths which have a range of
39-43 mm. Hellmayr (1934) gives similar dimensions for the same
skins, though bill lengths are about 2 mm longer and closer to the mean
of the 1959-63 sample. Chubb’s (1909) measurements of the type,
converted to mm, are all greater than the 1959-63 means; wing
(71 mm), bill (21.6 mm) and tail (44.5 mm) fall outside the ranges
shown in Table 1; tarsus and body length measurements fall within the
range. ‘The Chubb type specimen (1909. 10. 20. 37) and the three other
Falkland skins at the Sub-Department of Ornithology, Tring, were
measured in February 1991. All four specimens have very similar
dimensions (wing 55-59 mm, tail 43.2—45.5 mm, bill 17-19 mm, tarsus
17-19 mm). Except for the tail, they fall within the ranges of the
1959-63 sample. It appears that measuring techniques used in 1909
differed from those used now or that there were errors in the figures

given by Chubb.

Plumage aberrations

Cawkell & Hamilton (1961) recorded the first example, a
cream-coloured bird seen several times on Kidney Island in 1951. On
16 March 1963, a partial albino Cobb’s Wren was trapped and
photographed on Kidney Island. This bird had symmetrical
rectangular white flank patches and one white lesser wing-covert on the
right wing. The underparts were paler than usual, with a creamy white
throat, buffish breast and chestnut vent and undertail-coverts. A bird
with similar pale flanks was seen 500m away on the other side of
Kidney Island in October 1962. Several birds showing variable white
or grey markings near the eyes and on the crown were seen and
photographed on Kidney Island between 1959 and 1962 on dates

R. W. Woods 197 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

between 26 October and 3 January. Spread over this period of the
breeding season, these markings seem unlikely to be head moult and no
sequence over the head was found. No birds with unusual plumage
colours were seen on Kidney Island in 1983, but one singing male on
Carcass Island in 1983 was recognisable because it showed partial
albinism in plumage and claws. The albinism was symmetrical in three
white inner secondary feathers on each wing, separated by one normal
feather, and there were several other white body and head feathers.
These aberrations have probably arisen through mutation in the
restricted gene pools, in the small isolated island populations of Carcass
and Kidney which are 190 km (120 miles) apart. As mentioned later,
there is no evidence of regular migration between offshore islands.

Distribution, habitats and nesting of the House Wren in the Americas

This summary is intended to provide a basis for comparison with the
distributional and ecological data on Cobb’s Wren given in the
subsequent sections.

The House Wren is widespread in North and South America and
migratory in the southern and northern parts of its range (Kendeigh
1941, Humphrey et al. 1970, Venegas & Jory 1979). Ridgely & Tudor
(1989) describe it as a virtual commensal of man almost throughout
South America. Crawshay (1907) remarks that it is one of the
commonest birds in the outskirts of forests in Tierra del Fuego. The
House Wren’s adaptability was noted by Hudson (1920) and
confirmed by Ridgely & Tudor who state that it occurs “‘in virtually
all open or semiopen habitats.’ Although Crawshay did not find it in
open grassland, Venegas & Jory (1979) observed it in many habitats
throughout the Magellanic region, including treeless uplands to
1000 m. South of Tierra del Fuego, Reynolds (1935) observed House
Wrens in stunted evergreen woodland on islands of the Wollaston
group. Observers in the Americas agree that it will nest in any
available hole of a suitable size, above or below ground level. Nests
are untidy deep cups with a foundation of coarse sticks that almost
fill the chosen site. The cup is lined with fine grasses and roots with
an inner lining of soft materials (Hudson 1920, Haverschmidt 1952,
Skutch 1953).

Historical records of Cobb’s Wren

There are no definite records of Cobb’s Wren in the early years of
settlement before the species was described. Only Pernety at Port Louis
in 1764 and Clayton on Saunders Island between 1773 and 1774,
provide evidence of the presence of some kind of wren.

Pernety (1771) remarked on the “‘great numbers of wrens like those
in France’’. Cobb’s Wren resembles the European Wren T. troglodytes
while the Grass (Short-billed Marsh) Wren Cistothorus platensis has
generally lighter plumage, heavily striated buff and black above.
Pernety’s brief comment may be significant because he was describing
part of East Falkland when the native vegetation was intact. Pernety
and the other French settlers established Port Louis in 1764 and

R. W. Woods 198 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

introduced the first herbivorous animals, including cattle, sheep, pigs
and horses. These grazed and trampled the coastal tussac grass
Parodiochloa flabellata, a gigantic and very long-lived plant that has
evolved only in south Atlantic regions with few or no native herbivores
(Wace 1960). ‘Tussac cannot survive continuous grazing and is also very
susceptible to fire (Bourne 1988, Woods 1988). Since the late 18th
century, almost all tussac on East and West Falkland has disappeared
but it survives on some smaller offshore islands where it has not been
over-grazed or burnt. A recent study showed a 42% decrease in mature
tussac on 22 continuously stocked islands between 1956 and 1983
(Woods, in Strange et al. 1988).

Clayton (1774) on Saunders Island noted ‘“‘two kind of little birds
whose plumage is light brown, one with a white throat and fond of
coming in and about our houses like the Robins in England’’. His “‘little
birds’? may have been compared with the large, conspicuous sheldgeese
Chloephaga spp. and therefore could apply to any passerines, though
other brief descriptions refer to “‘finches’? and a “‘thrush’’. Possible
species for these “‘little birds’? are the wrens and the Tussac-bird
Cinclodes antarcticus. The Grass Wren does not frequent habitations.
Cobb’s Wren is predominantly brown above with buffish underparts,
darker at the sides and whitish in the centre, and is fairly tame. The
remarkably tame Tussac-bird is a dull dark brown. Though Clayton’s
descriptions are inadequate, he may have been referring to Cobb’s
Wren and the 'Tussac-bird.

None of the visiting naturalists in the 19th Century (Quoy and
Gaimard in 1820, Garnot in 1822, Darwin in 1833 and 1834, Hooker
and McCormick in 1842 and Abbott between 1858 and 1860)
reported a wren that is recognisable as Cobb’s Wren. This seems
surprising because Cobb’s Wren is tamer, has a louder song and is
more easily seen where both species occur. However, Abbott
apparently only travelled in East Falkland while Quoy and Gaimard,
Garnot, Darwin and McCormick were all based for periods of one to
six months in the Berkeley Sound/Port Louis area of East Falkland.
Garnot and Abbott both noted the Grass Wren which still occurs in
marshy areas with rushes on the main islands. Their failure to record
Cobb’s Wren was possibly associated with deterioration of habitat.
When Quoy and Gaimard stayed for several months in 1820, most
tussac had probably disappeared from the Port Louis area with
consequent loss of habitat for all passerines. Some evidence comes
from the botanist J. D. Hooker (1847), who visited Port Louis in
1842, nearly 80 years after the first settlement. He remarked that
cattle ate the tussac straw used to roof a house in the settlement,
estimated that about 30,000 feral cattle roamed the country, and
commented that tussac had been greatly reduced by uncontrolled
grazing. Perhaps none of these naturalists visited offshore
tussac-covered islands, such as Kidney Island in the southern
entrance of Berkeley Sound, where a strong population of Cobb’s
Wren still exists. There is no evidence that it occurred in coastal
regions of East Falkland, but if it did, the widespread destruction of
tussac may have contributed to its disappearance before 1820.

R. W. Woods 199 Bull. B.O:.E21993 143 (4)
TABLE 2

Occurrence of Cobb’s Wren and mammalian predators on 29
outer islands of the Falkland Islands

Number of predator species

0 1 D 3
Cobb’s Wren present 16 1 0 0
Cobb’s Wren absent 0 3 7 2

Distribution and status of Cobb’s Wren

Cobb’s Wren is resident in the Falkland Islands and appears to be
sedentary. Pettingill (1960) concluded that the prevailing strong
westerly winds and equable climate would tend to inhibit migration,
particularly of the land birds living in tussac. Winters are not so severe
as to favour migration though the predominant westerly winds possibly
aided colonisation in the past. Evidence of sedentary behaviour was
obtained by ringing between 1959 and 1963. Of the 23 ringed, the five
subsequent records, up to 11 months after ringing, were all of birds
seen or retrapped on the island where ringed. Neither ringing nor the
few records of post-breeding dispersal have suggested interchange
between the isolated island colonies. There is, however, evidence of
post-breeding dispersal from Carcass Island to nearby West Point
Island, where R. B. Napier (im litt.) has seen a few individuals in
autumn.

In 1983 a Breeding Birds Survey was started through the Falkland
Islands Trust in Stanley, now Falklands Conservation (Woods 1989). By
1993, Cobb’s Wren had been recorded as present or breeding on only 17
oftshore islands and as absent from 12 islands (Fig. 1). The data are
summarised in Table 2 in relation to the number of predator species.
Domestic or feral cats Felis catus and Norway Rats Rattus norvegicus
were recorded on seven islands, Black rats Rattus rattus on one island,
House Mice Mus musculus and Patagonian Foxes Dusicyon griseus each
on four islands. Cats or foxes were present on 10 of the 12 islands
without Cobb’s Wren and both were present on one of the 10, suggesting
that introduced carnivores are potentially more damaging than the
omnivorous rodents. It has, however, been reported as breeding on one
island where there are a few domestic cats but no rats or mice.

Habitat

Beck (1917) found that Cobb’s Wren was still common on Kidney
Island but saw none around Stanley and he remarked that the
destruction of tussac grass by sheep on all but outlying islets had driven
“the wren’’ away from inhabited areas. Bennett (1926) and Cawkell &
Hamilton (1961) implied that it occurred exclusively on tussac islands.
Pettingill (1974) described it as a ““common resident on certain tussock
islands where it frequents the adjacent beaches, rocky slopes and cliffs’’.
He was puzzled in 1953-54 and 1971-72 by the restricted distribution of

R. W. Woods 200 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

Figure 1. Islands where Cobb’s Wren was present or absent during the Breeding Birds
Survey of Falklands Conservation 1983-1993. Cobb’s Wren present: a, North Fur; b, Flat
Jason; c, Elephant Jason; d, South Jason; e, South Fur; f, Carcass; g, Low; h, Dunbar;
j, Third Passage; k, Beef; m, Speedwell; n, George; p, Barren; r, Sea Lion; s, Beauchéne;
t, Kidney; u, Lively. Cobb’s Wren absent: 1, Steeple Jason; 2, West Point; 3, Split;
4, Saunders; 5, Keppel; 6, Pebble; 7, New; 8, Beaver; 9, Staats; 10, Weddell; 11, Bleaker;
12, East.

Cobb’s Wren; his observations suggested that it required extensive and
luxuriant tussac on small islands and he did not see it in any other kind of
habitat. He had no knowledge of its occurrence in Stanley or at farm
settlements, “‘despite the prevalence of tree and shrub plantations, many
hedgerows [of gorse and native Box Hebe elliptica| and numerous
cavities in sheds and dilapidated buildings”’. Evidence from the Breed-
ing Birds Survey confirms that Cobb’s Wren does not utilise the variety
of habitats that are exploited by the House Wren in South America. ‘The
lack of substantiated records from the mainland of East or West Falkland
suggests that it cannot survive where coastal tussac grass and shrubs
such as Fachine Chiliotrichum diffusum have been destroyed and where
feral cats, rats and mice are present. However, field work on Carcass
Island showed that tussac grass is not an essential component of all
territories.

Nest-sites and nests

Most of the few recorded nest-sites have been in basal parts of large
tussac plants. Cawkell & Hamilton (1961) reported one nest hidden

R. W. Woods 201 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

beneath large boulders on Kidney Island and a nest was found in a
sheepskin hanging on a fence on George Island (Reid, in Woods 1975).
There is no evidence that Cobb’s Wren now nests in any shrubs or in
sites such as stone walls or sheds. Five nests on Kidney Island and
Carcass Island were built of dead tussac stems with substantial linings
of soft feathers. Each nest filled a hollow, either between dead leaves
near ground level or within a crack in the fibrous root pedestal. Two of
three nests examined were domed, with an entrance hole near the top.
Pettingill (1974) notes that the nest he found on Kidney Island was a
ball of dead grasses in a hollow on the side of a pedestal, 90 cm above
ground.

On Kidney Island in October 1962, a deep cup-shaped nest with four
small chicks was found in a cavity at the side of a tussac root pedestal.
The nest was about 60 cm above ground and sheltered by overhanging
dead leaves. On 30 October 1962 it was lined with large soft, white and
barred Kelp Goose Chloephaga hybrida feathers. When dismantled in
January 1963, these Kelp Goose feathers were absent, possibly
removed by other birds for use in their nests. The main structure was
of dry grasses up to 20 cm long, with a few to 33 cm, woven in a circle
and intermixed with root fibres. The lining consisted of 255 feathers
from at least seven species and about 100 hairs of the Southern Sea
Lion Otaria byronia. Feathers that could be identified included
Grey-backed Storm-Petrel Garrodia nereis (171), Turkey Vulture
Cathartes aura (31), Falkland Thrush (19), Short-eared Owl Asio
flammeus (11) and Diving Petrel Pelecanoides sp. (2). ‘The remaining 23
feathers could not be identified, except two of a penguin species and
one probably from the Black-crowned Night Heron WNycticorax
nycticorax. No ‘Tussac-bird feathers were found, which was surprising
because it is the commonest passerine on Kidney Island (Woods 1970).

On Carcass Island, a nest with nearly fledged young was found on 29
October 1983. It was at ground level by the base of a large tussac plant
within a crack between dead stems. This nest was domed, with a large
entrance, about 8cm wide, in the top half. Another domed nest
discovered on 1 November 1983 was in a similar site but was about
40 cm above ground with an entrance hole about 6 cm wide.

Field work on population densities in 1983

Information on habitats and territory size was obtained during
passerine census work in tussac grass on Kidney Island (32 ha), West
Point Island (51°20’S, 60°41’W, 1255 ha) and Carcass Island (51°18’S,
60°32’W, 1894 ha) during the southern spring of 1983 (Woods 1984).

West Point Island

The census plot (5.3 ha) looked similar to that on Carcass Island
(4.2 ha, Fig. 2), with mature tussac grass replanted over 80 years
earlier, interspersed with low grasses on a coastal slope. The tussac was
suitable for nesting but Cobb’s Wren was absent. The owner of West
Point Island, R. Napier, told me in 1961 that he believed Cobb’s Wren
did not nest on the island. An important difference between the two

R. W. Woods 202 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

KEY

E=) Boulders
d Diddle -dee etc.
p Pig Vine

[K9 Rock shelves
(==) Rotting kelp
[=] Tussac

y Yorkshire Fog etc.

Figure 2. (a) Distribution of major vegetation types in the northern part of Dyke
Paddock, Carcass Island, West Falkland; October 1983. (b) Outlines of Cobb’s Wren
territories in the same area. Nest-sites are shown in territories 4, 6 and 7. 50-m intervals
are marked on the right-hand boundary.

islands (only 9 km apart) was the presence on West Point of feral cats,
Norway Rats and House Mice. Carcass Island has remained free of rats
and mice by chance, while successive owners have not kept more than
one domestic cat. In the 1950s West Point Island was infested with rats
but by 1961 there were few rats and many cats. In 1983, independent
estimates of the number of feral cats by the four residents ranged from
20 to 50. Further evidence that cats reduce populations of passerines
came from G. Bound (in litt.) in November 1985. He reported that on
Bleaker Island, south of East Falkland, cats were absent for many years
and wrens were then very common. During recent visits no wrens and
few other small birds were seen, especially around the house. He also
reported three domestic cats and the presence of rats.

Carcass Island
Figure 2a shows the main vegetation types in the Dyke Paddock
census plot, where much of the shoreline had dense tussac to highwater

R. W. Woods 203 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

mark. Figure 2b shows the territories drawn after 43 hours mapping of
individuals over a period of 16 days. Of the eight passerine species
recorded in the census plot, Cobb’s Wren was second only to the
Tussac-bird in the total number of records. Many simultaneous
observations were made when a singing male stimulated adjacent males
to sing. Several flight chases and some confrontations on the shore were
also registered. Seven of the eight territories included a section of
shore. One male (no. 8) sang quietly from a tussac strip up the slope
behind other territories, perhaps because it was unmated or unable to
defend a shore section. The nest in the largest territory (no. 7) was only
20 m from the boundary fence but this male was recorded over the
100 m to the shore and about 100 m along the shoreline. In contrast,
the smallest territory included only 15 m of shoreline.

Comparison of Figures 2a and 2b shows that Cobb’s Wren territories
were smallest where tussac bordered a boulder beach with rotting kelp.
This concentration occurred in the northwestern half where six males
defended adjacent strips between 15 and 60m long (average 35 m).
There were fewer boulders at the northwestern end and 12m of
territory no. 1 included flat shelf rock below the tussac. Territories 6
and 7 met 10 m into a 30 m strip of flat rock. Territory 7 had only 40 m
of the 100 m shoreline covered by boulders.

Only about one-third of the tussac in the plot was included in these
territories though all shoreline tussac was within a defended territory.
The two smallest territories (2 and 3) each had about half their area on
a wider section of boulder beach with thick kelp. The two males often
sang from boulders or dead tussac pedestals that had fallen on the
beach. Territory 4 had a similar beach area but the tussac was mostly
separated from the shore by some dense lyme-grass Elymus arenarius.
This territory also extended 50 m up the narrow valley of a stream.

The difference in population density of Cobb’s Wren between the
census plot in a fenced tussac paddock and the sparsely vegetated
1.6km of shoreline between the paddock and the settlement was
striking. The shoreline was walked on the fine, nearly calm morning of
25 October 1983. Records were made of every singing Cobb’s Wren
located and the distance each bird moved along the shoreline after
being flushed or stimulated into song by a tape-recording played
briefly. Assessed in this way, there were six territories, and one isolated
record. Territory sizes varied between 40 and 205 m of shore (average
93 m), separated by undefended lengths varying from c. 60 to c. 180 m
(average 122 m). The shoreline varies from gentle slopes to cliffs up to
10 m high at the ends of ridges in the undulating ground. In places flat
rocks project from the shore and there are several small bays below
cliffs, with boulders and kelp. The vegetation along this shoreline
consisted of short turf grazed by geese and sheep, dense patches of
diddle-dee Empetrum rubrum on the ridges, eroded bare ground on
slopes and rushes Rostkovia magellanica in hollows; there was no tussac.

Kidney Island
This is a prime example of an ungrazed offshore tussac island,
though tussac was cut until the 1940s for livestock in Stanley (Woods

R. W. Woods 204 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

KEY

Dense tussac, 1.5-2-5m high

Tussac 1-1-5m, dense with small clearings
Cinnamon grass, Small fern, dead tussac stools
i Cinnamon grass & Wild celery

f=s) Boulders & rotting kelp

= Break in slope: 4°toE, 10-30° to W

Spring

eon he

Figure 3. Distribution of major vegetation types in the census plot on Kidney Island,
East Falkland; September 1983. (b) Outline of Cobb’s Wren territories in the same area.

1970). In 1963 almost all the island was covered in tussac 1.5 to 2.5m
high and in 1983 the tussac was, if anything, more dense. ‘The census
plot was small (1.45 ha), due to difficulties in marking and using a 50 m
grid in tussac reaching well above head height. Seven census visits were
made, and territories were assessed by the method used in the B.T.O.’s
Common Birds Census.

At least six territory-holding male Cobb’s Wrens were found in the
census plot (Fig. 3), where some occupied tussac 100 m or more from

R.W. Woods 205 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

the shore and others used the beach for feeding and singing. Of the four
territories occupying the coastal half of the plot, two extended along the
shoreline and two were completely within dense tussac on the slope.
Territories away from the shore seemed more widely scattered, perhaps
because larger feeding areas were needed where the birds had no access
to the beach. The population density of Cobb’s Wren in the Kidney
Island plot was similar to that in the northwestern section of the
Carcass Island plot.

In September, passerine activity was recorded in three visits along
400 m of the shoreline, from the eastern corner of the census plot. The
spread of registrations suggests that seven individuals held territories,
with an average of c. 57 m of shoreline each, slightly longer than the
average (45m) found in the Carcass Island plot. The tussac cover
around the Kidney Island bay was complete, whereas Cobb’s Wrens on
Carcass Island were competing for a very limited area of mature tussac
with only patchy growth extending away from the shore. The 400 m of
the shoreline consisted of boulders and dead kelp adjoining the tussac
edge, with larger quantities of kelp over the 150 m at the eastern end.

Conclusions

Cobb’s Wren is noticeably tolerant of humans, but, in contrast to the
continental House Wren, it is rarely found close to settlements. Known
populations of this resident and sedentary species are concentrated in
mature tussac grass, probably because it offers excellent shelter from
strong winds, provides potential nest-sites and materials and supports a
larger invertebrate fauna than other Falkland habitats. Where tussac on
a slope is adjacent to a boulder beach with accumulated dead kelp,
conditions are further improved because the tussac is more vigorous
and the potential food supply is increased by littoral invertebrates.

Cobb’s Wren occurs up to 1.6 km (1 mile) from coastal tussac where
the island is free of introduced mammalian predators. Its current
distribution is closely related to the presence or absence of predators,
particularly domestic and feral cats. Susceptibility to predation may
have been increased by the shortage of dense cover during the
destruction of tussac over the past two centuries. Poor agricultural
management with widespread over-grazing and the burning of other
inland grasses and low shrubs, in attempts to increase the availability of
new growth as forage for sheep (Bourne 1988), have further depleted
the available habitat and probably contributed to the isolation of
Cobb’s Wren populations on a few outer islands. These isolated
colonies have produced examples of plumage aberration, particularly
on Kidney Island at the eastern side of the archipelago.

The larger size, longer bill and wing of Cobb’s Wren, and the
marked ecological differences between it and the House Wren in the
Americas, strengthen the case for treating it as a separate species, T.
cobbi. It is vulnerable because it is almost exclusively found on tussac
islands without introduced predators. Conservation measures with
careful monitoring may be necessary if it is to survive.

R. W. Woods 206 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to my employers, Devon County Council, for allowing leave of absence for
the 1983 field work. I thank the Royal Society of London for a generous grant and the
National Geographic Society (Grant 2712-83), the Falkland Islands Foundation and the
British Ornithologists’ Union for financial support. Several people helped with the 1983
visit; Sir Rex Hunt the Civil Commissioner, Colonel Ian G. Nason, then Chief of Staff at
British Forces Falkland Islands, Roddy and Lily Napier of West Point Island, Robin
and Lorraine McGill of Carcass Island, Stan and Susan da Prato, John Sherwood, Kitty
and the late Cecil Bertrand. I thank all the observers who submitted records for the
Breeding Birds Survey. I am grateful to Dr Linda Birch at the Edward Grey Institute,
Oxford, for offprints and to the Natural History Museum at Tring for access to skins and
for offprints. My thanks are due to Dr David Snow for his invaluable advice on earlier
drafts.

References:

Abbott, C. C. 1861. Notes on the birds of the Falkland Islands. Ibis (1)3: 149-167.

Beck, R. H. 1917. Bird photographing on the Falkland Islands. American Museum
Journal XVII, no. 7.

Bennett, A. G. 1926. A list of the birds of the Falkland Islands and Dependencies. [bis
(12)2: 306-333.

Bennett, A. G. 1935. Two records from the Falkland Islands. Ibis (13)5: 436.

Bourne, W. R. P. 1988. The effect of burning and grazing on the grassland birds of
north-west Britain, the Falklands, and other oceanic islands. Pp. 97-103 in P.
Goriup (ed.), Ecology and Conservation of Grassland Birds. 1.C.B.P. Technical
Publication no. 7.

Cawkell, E. M. & Hamilton, J. E. 1961. The Birds of the Falkland Islands. Jbis 103a:
1-27.

Chapman, F. M. 1934. Descriptions of new birds from Mocha Island, Chile and the
Falkland Islands, with comments on their bird life and that of the Juan Fernandez
Islands and Chiloe Island, Chile. dm. Mus. Novit. no. 762.

Chapman, F. M. & Griscom, L. 1924. The House Wrens of the genus Tvoglodytes. Bull.
Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 50: 279-304.

Chubb, C. 1909. (No title) Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 25: 15-16.

Clayton, S. W. 1774. A Short Description of Falklands Islands ... Letter to P. Stephens
Esq. Public Record Office Adm 7/704.

Cobb, A. F. 1910. Wild Life in the Falkland Islands. Gowans’s Nature Books No. 26.
Gowans and Gray, London and Glasgow.

Cobb, A. F. 1933. Birds of the Falkland Islands. Witherby, London.

Crawshay, R. 1907. The Birds of Tierra del Fuego. Quaritch, London.

Garnot, P. 1826. Remarques sur la zoologie des isles Malouines. Ann. Sct. Nat. 7:
39-59.

Gould, J. & Darwin, C. R. 1841. The Zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. ‘Beagle’. Part 3,
Birds: 8-145.

Haverschmidt, F. 1952. Nesting behavior of the Southern House Wren in Surinam.
Condor 54: 292-295.

Hellmayr, C. E. 1921. Review of the birds collected by Alcide D’Orbigny in South
America, part II. Novit. Zool. 28: 230-276.

Hellmayr, C. E. 1934. Catalogue of Birds of the Americas. Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Publ.
Zool. Ser. XIII, Part VII: 239-243.

Hooker, J. D. 1847. Botany of the Antarctic Voyage, Vol. 1 Flora Antarctica, Part 2, The
Botany of Fuegia, The Falklands etc ... Reeve, London.

Hudson, W. H. 1920. Birds of La Plata. 2 vols. Dent, London.

Humphrey, P. S., Bridge, D., Reynolds, P. W. & Peterson, R. T. 1970. Birds of Isla
Grande (Tierra del Fuego). Smiths. Inst. Washington.

Kendeigh, S. C. 1941. Territorial and mating behavior of the House Wren. Illinois Biol.
Monogr. 18: 1-120.

McCormick, R. 1884. Voyages of discovery in the Arctic and Antarctic seas and round the
world. 2 vols. London.

Pernety, A. J. 1771. The history of a voyage to the Malouine (or Falkland) Islands .. .
Translated for T. Jeffreys, London.

P. Alstrém et al. 207 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

Pettingill, O. S., Jr. 1960. The effects of climate and weather on the birds of the Falkland
Islands. Proc. XII Int. Orn. Congr.: 604-614.

Pettingill, O. S., Jr. 1974. Passerine birds of the Falkland Islands: their behavior and
ecology. Living Bird 12: 95-136.

Quoy & Gaimard 1824; in L. C. de Freycinet, Voyage autour du monde sur les corvettes de
S.M. ‘L’?Uranie’ et ‘La Physicienne’ pendant les annees 1817-1820. Vol. 1 Zoologie.
Paris.

Reynolds, P. W. 1935. Notes on the birds of Cape Horn. Jbzs (13)5: 65-101.

Ridgely, R. S. & Tudor, G. 1989. The Birds of South America, Vol. 1. The Oscine
Passerines. Oxford Univ. Press.

Skutch, A. F. 1953. Life History of the Southern House Wren. Condor 55: 121-149.

Strange, I. J., Parry, C. J., Parry, M. C. & Woods, R. W. 1988. Tussac Grass in the
Falklands. Falkland Islands Foundation Project Report.

Venegas, C. & Jory, J. 1979. Guia de Campo para las Aves de Magallanes. Instituto de la
Patagonia, Punta Arenas.

Wace, N. M. 1960. The botany of the southern oceanic islands. Proc. Roy. Soc. Series B,
152: 475-490.

Woods, R. W. 1970. The avian ecology of a tussac island in the Falkland Islands. Ibis
112: 15-24.

Woods, R. W. 1975. The Birds of the Falkland Islands. Anthony Nelson, Oswestry.

Woods, R. W. 1984. A Census of Breeding Falkland Islands Passerine Birds in Tussac
Grass. Pp. 132 (unpublished).

Woods, R. W. 1988. Guide to Birds of the Falkland Islands. Anthony Nelson, Oswestry.

Woods, R. W. 1989. Falkland Islands Trust and Foundation Breeding Birds Survey. F.
Is. Foundation Newsletter 8: 6-9.

Address: R. W. Woods, 68 Aller Park Road, Newton Abbot, Devon TQ12 4NQ.
© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

Re-evaluation of the taxonomic status of
Phylloscopus subaffinis arcanus

by Per Alstrém, S. Dillon Ripley & Pamela C. Rasmussen
Received 15 September 1992

The description of Phylloscopus subaffinis arcanus Ripley (1950) was
based on three specimens collected in Nepal in the non-breeding
season. This was considered to be a significant extension (c. 1200 km)
of the known range of P. subaffinis, the nominate race of which breeds
in central and southeastern China and winters in southern China and
neighbouring parts of Burma, Thailand and Indochina (King et al.
1975, Watson 1986, Cheng 1987, Lekagul & Round 1991). The alleged
intermediate appearance of arcanus between P. affinis and P. subaffinis
has been used as evidence of intergradation and to support the view
that P. affins and P. subaffinis are conspecific (Williamson 1967,
Watson 1986). However, while Vaurie (1954, 1959) recognized arcanus
as a subspecies of P. subaffinis, he wrote that “‘its validity and status
require further study’’.

P. Alstrom et al. 208 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

During a study of the relationships between P. subaffinis and P.
affinis, P.A. studied one of the original specimens of arcanus (USNM
408867), and upon his suggestion this and the type (USNM 408868)
were examined by S.D.R., J. P. Angle and P.C.R., and the third
specimen (YPM 9494) by P.C.R. Our examination showed that USNM
408867 has only 10 rectrices, while both USNM 408868 and YPM
9494 are missing one rectrix each and have only nine. All other taxa
recognized within the genus Phylloscopus, including P. subaffinis, have
12 rectrices. In addition, the tail is stongly graduated in all these
arcanus specimens. The distance from the tip of the outermost to the
tip of the innermost rectrix is 12 mm in USNM 408867, 15 mm in
USNM 408868, and 8mm in USNM 9494, while in all other
recognized taxa of Phylloscopus warblers the tail is less strongly
graduated; in P. subaffinis the distance from the tip of the outermost to
the tip of the innermost rectrix is <5 mm, usually c. 3 mm.

The wing/tail ratio is 1.0 in the arcanus specimens (wing length
measurement used is maximum wing length; Svensson 1984). In most
Phylloscopus warblers the wing/tail ratio is in the range 1.2—1.4, and in
no Eurasian form does it appear to be as low as 1.0. In P. subaffinis the
wing/tail ratio is on average 1.18 in males and 1.17 in females (Alstro6m
& Olsson 1992). The wings of the three arcanus specimens are also
more rounded than are those of P. subaffinis.

An additional difference is that the rictal bristles are prominent on all
three arcanus specimens, whereas in Eurasian Phylloscopus warblers in
general, including P. subaffinis, the rictal bristles are inconspicuous.

Finally, the bill is longer in arcanus than in P. subaffinis. Bill length to
skull in the arcanus specimens is 13.8 mm (USNM 408867), 14.0 mm
(USNM 408868), and 14.1 mm (YPM 9494), while in P. subaffinis,
billlength to skull averages 12.1 mm in males and 12.0 mm in females
(Alstrom & Olsson 1992).

The above characters are not compatible with P. subaffinis from
China, nor with any member of the genus Phylloscopus. However, both
in structure and plumage arcanus agrees perfectly with Cettia f.
flavolivacea. This re-evaluation shows that Phylloscopus subaffinus
arcanus is a junior synonym of Cettia f. flavolivacea, and that it clearly
can no longer be considered a link or intergrade between P. affinis and

P. subaffinis (cf. Alstro6m & Olsson 1992).

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to J. P. Angle, National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), for
examination of the type and sending one of the specimens on loan to the American
Museum of Natural History (AMNH), New York, and to M. LeCroy (AMNH), F. C.
Sibley (Yale Peabody Museum) and C. Dove (NMNH) for help in association with loans.
Urban Olsson commented on a first draft of this note.

References:

Alstrém, P. & Olsson, U. 1992. On the taxonomic status of Phylloscopus affinis and
Phylloscopus subaffinis. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 112: 111-125.

Cheng, T.-h. 1987. A Synopsis of the Avifauna of China. Science Press, Beijing & Paul
Parey, Hamburg & Berlin.

R. B. Cavalcanti & M.A. Marini 209 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

King, B., Woodcock, M. & Dickinson, E. C. 1975. A Field Guide to the Birds of
South-East Asia. Collins, London.

Lekagul, B. & Round, P. D. 1991. A Guide to the Birds of Thailand. Saha Karn Bhaet,
Bangkok.

Ripley, S. D. 1950. New birds from Nepal and the Indian region. Proc. Biol. Soc.
Washington 63: 105.

Svensson, L. 1984. Identification Guide to European Passerines. Lars Svensson,
Stockholm.

Vaurie, C. 1954. Systematic notes on palearctic birds. No. 9. Sylviinae: the genus
Phylloscopus. Am. Mus. Novit. no. 1685.

Vaurie, C. 1959. The Birds of the Palearctic Fauna. A Systematic Reference. Order
Passeriformes. H. F. & G. Witherby, London.

Watson, G. E. 1986. Pp. 234-235 in E. Mayr & G. W. Cottrell (eds), Check-list of Birds
of the World. Vol. XI. Mus. Comp. Zool., Harvard.

Williamson, K. 1967. Identification for Ringers: the Genus Phylloscopus. Rev. ed. BTO
Field Guide no. 8, Tring.

Addresses: Per Alstrom, Kungsgatan 3, 462 33 Vanersborg, Sweden. Dr. S. Dillon Ripley
and Dr. Pamela C. Rasmussen, NHB Room 336, Smithsonian Institution,
Washington, D.C. 20560, U.S.A.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

Body masses of birds of the cerrado region,
Brazil

by Roberto B. Cavalcanti & Miguel A. Marini
Received 16 October 1992

Several papers published in this and other journals have stressed the
importance of data on the body masses of birds (reviews in Nice 1938,
and Clark 1979). However, there is a bias in the literature to reports on
birds of forested regions. Body masses of Brazilian birds, for example,
have been reported mostly for Amazonian localities (Oniki 1974, 1978,
Novaes 1976, Bierregaard 1988, Graves & Zusi 1990, and Silva et al.
1990). The cerrado (savanna-like) region, which covers about 25% of
Brazil, has only one comprehensive report on the body masses of birds
made by Fry (1970). He gave the body masses of 156 species of birds
from northeast Mato Grosso state. Reports that give limited data on the
body masses of birds from the cerrado region include Sick (1958) (34
species from the Distrito Federal), Oniki (1980) (38 species from Minas
Gerais state), and Oniki (1990) (15 species from Mato Grosso state).
This paper presents 571 body masses for 79 species of birds collected
and mist-netted in eight localities in central Brazil between 1984 and
1990. We do not report here 246 body masses of 79 species which have
small sample sizes or are wide-ranging. These are available from the
authors upon request. We do report, however, small samples of species
which are ecologically interesting or are relatively uncommon in the
sites visited by us. Most birds were mist-netted or collected in 17 sites

R. B. Cavalcanti & M. A. Marini 210 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

at the Distrito Federal (15°30’-16°05'S, 46°15’-48°15’W), Brazil. Other
birds were also collected at the Represa do Rio Manso in Mato Grosso
state (MA; 14°45’S, 56°W), Minaca (MI; 13°30’S, 48°15W), Sao Joao
da Aliane¢a (SJ; 14°46’S, 47°30'W) and Silvania (SI, 16°35’S, 48°45’W),
in Goias state; and at Paracati (PA; 17°14’S, 46°52’W), Santa Fé de
Minas (SF, 16°45'S, 45°30°W) and Ibia (IB; 19°30'S, 46°31'W), in
Minas Gerais state. Natural terrestrial habitats sampled include gallery
forests, cerrado sensu stricto, grasslands, second-growth cerrado, cerrado
sensu lato, deciduous forests, and wetlands. Some birds were also
collected in man-made habitats (orchards, pastures, cities).

Body masses were taken with 30g, 50g, 100g, and 300g Pesola
spring scales and with a 1 kg table balance. Mist-netted birds had
masses recorded to the nearest 0.5 g, collected birds to the nearest 0.1 g.
The use of different balances and different rounding methods may not
affect the results since bird body masses may vary from 5 to 10%
throughout the day, besides varying seasonally (Nice 1938, and
references in Clark 1979). Taxonomy follows Meyer de Schauensee
(1970). For samples sizes of 10 or more we give the mean + 1 standard
deviation, range, and sample in parenthesis. For samples smaller than
10, numbers in parentheses equal sample size for a particular mass
value. Unless otherwise identified (by two letters in parentheses after
the body mass) masses are from Distrito Federal. Body masses from
different localities are separated by semi-colon. Sex and age
identification (M, male; F, female; J, juvenile; S, subadult; I,
indeterminate) was made whenever possible by examining the gonads
of collected birds or by plumage characteristics of mist-netted birds.
Double letters represent more than one individual. The classification
by age and sex of Antilophia galeata follows Marini (1992). Specimens
were deposited in the bird collection of the Departamento de Ecologia,
Universidade de Brasilia.

It may be noted that the list includes body masses of some poorly
known birds endemic to the cerrado region (e.g. Cypsnagra
hirundinacea, Antilophia galeata, Neothraupis fasciata, Basileuterus
leucophrys, Poospiza cinerea). We stress the need of more records of
body masses of birds from regions other than the Amazonian, such as
the cerrado, the caatinga, and the Atlantic Forest.

Crypturellus undulatus: F 584.5; F 288.0 (MA)

Crypturellus parvirostris: M 155.3, F 165.3; M 160.0 (MI); F 157.0 (MA)
Ictinia plumbea: M 217 (MA)

Geranospiza melanoleuca: F 435 (PA)

Milvago chimachima: M 256 (PA); I 330 (SI)

Aramides cajanea: M 430.6; I 355 (SI)

Hoploxypterus cayanus: M 70.0 (SF); M 86.0 (MA)

Ara manilata: F 358 (MA)

Aratinga leucophthalmus: I 166 (SI)

Aratinga aurea: M 85.5, F 88.0 (PA); F 80.0 (SJ); F 87, I 90.0 (SI); I 81 (MA)
Aratinga auricapilla: M 130 (1B)

Amazona amazonica: F 400 (MA)

Coccyzus melacoryphus: II 37.5, 43.7; M 47.2 (M1)

Nyctibius griseus: F 169.0 (MA)

Nyctidromus albicollis: M 59.7, I 64.0

Caprimulgus parvulus: M 37.3, II 37.7, 38.2 (MI)
Trogon curucui: M 52.7 (MA); MM 57.9, 58.4 (MI)

|
|
|
|
:
|
|
|
:
:
|

|

R. B. Cavalcanti & M. A. Marini 211 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

Baryphthengus ruficapillus: 1 142.0

Momotus momota: F 96.0 (MA)

Brachygalba lugubris: M 16.5 (MA)

Notharchus tectus: F 38.5 (MA)

Nystalus chacuru: M 50.0 (2), F 51.0 (MA)

Nystalus maculatus: I1 37.0, 42.0 (MA)

Monasa nigrifrons: M 79.5 (MA); F 87.0 (MI)

Chelidoptera tenebrosa: M 33.5, F 37.8 (MA)

Pteroglossus castanotis: MM 227, 230, I 229 (MA)

Pteroglossus inscriptus: MM 104, 117, F 112 (MA)

Picumnus guttifer: MM 11.0, 12.4, I 11.5 (MA)

Chrysoptilus melanochloros: F 74.5 (MA)

Celeus flavescens: M 126.3 (MI); F 122.0 (MA)

Melanerpes cruentatus: MM 54.5, 60.1, F 57.0 (MA)

Leuconerpes candidus: M 112.7 (SJ)

Dendrocopus mixtus: 1 23.4

Campephilus melanoleucus: M 217 (MA); M 228 (SJ)

Sittasomus griseicapillus: 11 13.6+1.0, 12.0-15.5 (19); F 10.8 (MI)

Xiphocolaptes albicollis: F 130.6

Dendrocolaptes platyrostris: M 56.2, F 64.5, II 55.0, 58.0; F 64.8 (MI)

Xiphorhynchus guttatus: F 53.5 (MI)

Lepidocolaptes angustirostris: F 25.3, II 22.7, 28.4

Poecilurus scutatus: M 14.3; I] 15.441.7, 13.5-19.5 (12)

Phacellodomus rufifrons: F 25.7

Philydor dimidiatus: F 29.7; 11 29.4+1.5, 27.0-32.0 (10)

Thamnophilus caerulescens: MM 20.0, 20.1, 22.5, 23.5, 24.0; MJMJ 23.0, 24.0; FF 21.0,
Pte 53(2)2 0 28:5

Tityra cayana: M 67.8

Tityra inquisitor: M 38.5 (M1)

Antilophia galeata: MM 20.6+1.9, 18.0—26.5 (39); SMSM 21.341.8, 18.5-
IMIM 20.0 + 1.2, 18.4—22.5 (12); FF 22.4+ 1.6, 18.8—26.2 (19); II 20.44 1.5,
(41)

Knipolegus lophotes: M 35.2 (SF)

Tyrannus albogularis: M 39.5

Emipidonomus aurantioatrocristatus: MM 20.0, 20.5 (M1)

Empidonax euleri: MM 11.2, 13.0, I] 10.8+ 0.8, 9.0-12.0 (17)

Elaenia flavogaster: M 22.0, FF 20.0, 21.7, 22.3, 23.4, II 21.0, 22.9, 24.5
Elaenia mesoleuca: MM 17.7, 18.1, FF 17.1, 19.5, I1 17.5, 18.0, 18.2, 19.5 (2), 20.0, 22.0
Elaenia cristata: MM 17.5, 18.2, 19.0, II 16.0, 16.8, 18.3

Elaenia chiriquensis: MM 16.1 +1.0, 14.4-17.4 (10), FF 14.2, 15.0, 15.5, II 10.4, 14.6,
15.5 (2), 15.8, 16.0, 16.3; MM 15.5, 16.5, F 14.5 (MI)

Elaenia obscura: M 28.5, II 27.0, 28.0, 29.2

Cyanocorax cyanomelas: MM 185.0, 192 (MA)

Cyanocorax cristatellus: | 178.3

Cyanocorax cyanopogon: FF 132.6, 159.5 (MI)

Thryothorus genibarbis: MM 19.6, 21.0, F 17.0, I 18.5 (MA)

Thryothorus leucotis: 11 20.5 + 1.9, 16.0—23.0 (15)

Turdus nigriceps: M 48.9, II 47.5, 52.0, 56.0

Turdus leucomelas: M 60.0 (SF); M 67.0 (MI); MM 55.0, 56.0, FF 49.5, 59.5, 72.5 (MA);
II 60.0 + 7.0, 47.0-76.0 (21)

Turdus albicollis: 11 55.8 + 6.9, 47.5-67.5 (10)

Basileuterus flaveolus: MM 12.0, 13.0, 13.2, I 13.0 (MA); II 13.7 + 0.9, 12.0-15.0 (13)
Basileuterus hypoleucus: 11 11.4+0.8, 10.0-13.0 (33); MM 8.0, 10.5 (2), 10.8 (MA); M
10.6, 1 10.3 (MI)

Basileuterus leucophrys: 11 15.0, 17.5 (2), 18.5, 19.5 (2), 20.0 (2), 22.0

Cyanerpes cyaneus: M 12.8 (MA)

Tangara cayana: MM 20.0, 20.5, 22.5 (2), MJMJ 20.0, 21.5, 24.0, II 19.0 (2), 20.5 (2),
21.5, 22.0, 22.5, 25.0; M 19.4 (MI); M 16.2 (SJ)

Tachyphonus rufus: MM 28.0, 29.0, 31.0 (2), 32.5 (2), 33.0, MJMJ 28.0, 29.5, 30.5, 31.5,
II 30.7 42.4, 27.5-33.7 (14); I 34.0 (SJ)

Trichothraupis melanops: MM 21.0, 21.5, 25.5, II 21.0, 21.5, 22.5 (2), 23.0, 24.0 (2)
Cypsnagra hirundinacea: F 34.0

25.2 (15);
17293)

R. B. Cavalcanti & M.A. Marini 212 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

Pyrrhocoma ruficeps: MM 15.5, 16.0, MJMJ 15.0 (2), 17.0, II 15.5, 18.0
Neothraupis fasciata: M 28.0, I 25.3

Saltator maximus: IT 40.5, Bil, 5; M 46.0, I 42.0 (M1)

Saltator similis: 11 43.3 + 4. 3p 36. 0-54.0 (21)

Oryzoborus angolensis: 1 14.0

Arremon taciturnus: M 23.8 (MI)

Arremon flavirostris: IT 30.9 + 1.2, 29.0-33.0 (11)

Poospiza cinerea: M 15.2 (MI)

Acknowledgements

Field work was supported by research grants to R. B. C. and student fellowships to M. A.
M. from CNPq. Logistical support in Minacu was provided by SAMA S. A. Eletronorte
supported work at the Represa do Rio Manso, Mato Grosso state. Several field trips at
the Distrito Federal and Goias state were supported by the University of Brasilia.

References:

Bierregaard, R. O. 1988. Morphological data from understory birds in terra firme forest
in the central Amazonian basin. Rev. Brasil. Biol. 48: 169-178.

Clark, G. A., Jr. 1979. Body weights of birds: a review. Condor 81: 193-202.

Fry, C. H. 1970. Ecological distribution of birds in northeastern Mato Grosso State,
Brazil. An. Acad. Brasil. Ci. 42: 275-318.

Graves, G. R. & Zusi, R. L. 1990. Avian body weights from lower Rio Xingu, Brazil.
Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 110: 20-25.

Marini, M. A. 1992. Foraging behavior and diet of the Helmeted Manakin. Condor 94:
151-158.

Meyer de Schauensee, R. 1970. A Guide to the Birds of South America. Livingston Press,
Narberth, Pa. (Reprinted by International Council for Bird Preservation with new
addenda, 1982).

Nice, M. M. 1938. The biological significance of bird weights. Bird-Banding 9: 1-11.

Novaes, F. C. 1976. As aves do Rio Aripuana, estados de Mato Grosso e Amazonas. Acta
Amazonica, Supl. 6: 61-85.

Oniki, Y. 1974. Some temperatures of birds of Belém, Brazil. Acta Amazonica 4: 63-68.

Oniki, Y. 1978. Weights, digestive tracts and gonadal conditions of some Amazonian
birds. Rev. Brasil. Biol. 38: 679-681.

Oniki, Y. 1980. Weights and cloacal temperatures of some birds of Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Rev. Brasil. Biol. 40: 1-4.

Oniki, Y. 1990. Overnight changes in body weight and cloacal temperature of birds from
Mato Grosso state, Brazil. Rev. Brasil. Biol. 50: 681-684.

Sick, H. 1958. Resultados de uma excursao ornitol6gica do Museu Nacional a Brasilia,
novo Distrito Federal, Goias, com a descrigao de um novo representante de
Scytalopus (Rhinocryptidae, aves) (1). Bol. Mus. Nac. Rio de Janeiro, Sér. Zool.
1985: 1-41.

Silva, J. M. C., Lima, M. F. C. & Marceliano, M. L. V. 1990. Pesos de aves de duas
localidades na Amazénia Oriental. Ararajuba 1: 99-104.

Addresses: Roberto Brandao Cavalcanti & Miguel Angelo Marini, Departamento de
Ecologia, Universidade de Brasilia, Brasilia, DF, Brazil 70910. Present address of
M.A.M.: Dept. de Biociéncias, Campus Umuarama, Bl. 2D, Universidade Federal
de Uberlandia, MG, Brazil 38405-3872.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

E. C. Palacios & C. Bonilla-Ruz 213 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

New distributional information on Mexican

birds III. Northern Oaxaca

by Emma Cisneros-Palacios & Carlos Bonilla-Ruz
Received 28 September 1992

The Mexican state of Oaxaca has been studied intensively by
ornithologists, beginning with Deppe in 1825, Sclater and Sumichrast
in the latter half of the 19th century, and more recently by Phillips
(1964), Rowley (1966, 1984) and Binford (1989). However, several
areas remain almost completely unknown ornithologically, including
the two regions of northern Oaxaca treated here, La Canada (the arid
northern part of the state representing a southerly continuation of the
Valley of Tehuacan), and the Sierra de Huautla (Binford 1989). In
conducting field surveys in these two areas, we recorded one new
species for the state of Oaxaca, one new record for the northern half of
the state, and one significant range extension. Below, we document
these records and present partial avifaunal lists for the two areas
investigated.

During several months of field work in 1990 and various outings in
preceding years, field parties from the CIIDIR-Oaxaca visited nine
localities in northern Oaxaca as part of ongoing studies of the
terrestrial vertebrates in the state of Oaxaca. These localities were as
follows:

In low tropical deciduous forest (Arid Tropical Scrub of Binford
1989) at La Canada: (1) 1 km N, 1 km E San José del Chilar, 650 m,
17°43'N, 96°55’W; (2) 2km E of locality 1, 1000 m; (3) Vicinity of
Santiago Dominguillo, 700 m, 17°39'N 96°54'W; (4) 3km N, 3km E
San Pedro Jocotipac, at La Joya del Palmar, in cultivated land,
1700 m, 17°47'N, 97°02'’W.

In the Sierra de Huautla: (5) Puerto de la Soledad in cloud forest,
2440 m, 18°09'N, 96°59’W; (6) 5.3km N, 3.2km E Teotitlan del
Camino, gallery forest surrounded by humid oak forest, 1850 m,
18°10’N, 97°02’W; (7) Puente de Fierro in riparian sweetgum
(Liquidambar styraciflua) forest with second-growth cloud forest on
the surrounding slopes, 1650 m, 18°09’N, 96°51’W; (8) Maria Luisa
in second-growth cloud forest, 1300 m, 18°12’N, 96°50’W.

Additional observations were made in the vicinity of Cerro San
Felipe, 18.5 km N, 2.25 km W Oaxaca, in a riparian alder forest with
arid pine-oak forest on the surrounding slopes. Vegetation types are
based on maps from the National Institute of Statistics, Geography and
Informatic (INEGI, maps E14-6 Orizaba and E14-9, Oaxaca), and on
Rzedowsky’s (1978) classification of Mexican vegetation. Observations
were made during several days at each site, and voucher specimens
were collected and deposited in the ornithological collection of

CIIDIR-Oaxaca (OAX).

E. C. Palacios & C. Bonilla-Ruz 214 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

ELF OWL Micrathene whitneyi

On 21 March 1990, we collected a male Elf Owl (catalogue number
OAX 123) at locality 3, in the canyon of an affluent of the Rio Grande,
north of Santiago Dominguillo. On 15 June 1990, we took a female
(OAX 124) at locality 2. Both localities support tropical deciduous
forest with various species of Bursera and cacti such as Neobuxbaumia
sp. and Stenocereus weberii. ‘The male and female, respectively, had
wing chords of 100.3 and 101.7 mm and weighed 32.9 and 26.2 g.

Binford (1989) mentioned this species as likely to be found in the
state. Based on geographic distribution (Ligon 1968), these two
specimens most likely pertain to the subspecies whitney: of the Valley of
Tehuacan, Puebla. Ligon (1968) suggested that this subspecies may be
migratory, moving south between January and March, and that the
breeding range may extend from Sonora south only to southern Puebla.
Although the size of the gonads of the male was not recorded, and the
ovary of the female was not greatly enlarged, the June collection date
suggests that the Oaxaca population may be resident, since June is
within the season of pairing and egg-laying documented by Ligon
(1968). The holes used by the Elf Owls in Oaxaca most likely were
excavated by the woodpecker endemic to the region, the Grey-breasted
Woodpecker Melanerpes hypopolius, which was collected nearby at
locality 1. ‘The stomach of the male owl included the remains of
Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Neuroptera and Scorpionidae,
approximating the diet reported by Ligon (1968).

VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD A mazilia violiceps

On 16 June 1990 at San José del Chilar (locality 1), we collected
two male Violet-crowned Hummingbirds. Binford (1989) mentioned
Huajuapan (54.7 road km north-northeast, 1860 m [near Santiago
Chazumba]), as the nearest locality, so this record extends the known
geographic range by about 70 km and the collection dates by about one
month.

AMERICAN DIPPER Cinclus mexicanus

On 14 September 1990, at Puente de Fierro (locality 7), we collected
one male and one female American Dipper in a net suspended over a
rushing stream. The size of the gonads of the male and female were,
respectively, 3 X 1.5mm and 8 X 3 mm. Another female was taken at
our study site in the vicinity of Cerro San Felipe (see above) on 3
February 1986. These three specimens represent the first reliable
records of the species from the northern part of the state (Binford
1989), filling a gap in the known distribution of the species.

Other species

In the following lists, numbers indicate the localities at which each
species was encountered; asterisks denote those species recorded only
by sight; and dates in parentheses are those of observation or collection
in 1990.

Species detected in the four localities in La Canada in low tropical
deciduous forest were as follows: *Coragyps atratus 2 (14 Jun); Zenaida

E. C. Palacios & C. Bonilla-Ruz 215 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

astatica 3 (21 Mar); Columbina passerina 1 (16 Jun); *Geoccocyx velox 1
(15 Sept), 2 (23 Nov); Micrathene whitney: 2 (21 Mar), 3 (15 Jun);
Amazilia violiceps 1 (16 Jun); Momotus mexicanus 2 (15 Jun);
Chloroceryle americana 1 (17-18 Jun); Melanerpes hypopolius 1 (16 Sep);
Sayornis nigricans 1 (15-18 Jun); Polioptila caerulea 1 (16 Jun); Turdus
grayt 1 (16-18 Jun, 24-29 Nov); Turdus rufopalliatus 1 (16 Jun);
Passerina versicolor 1 (17 Jun); Ammodramus savannarum 4 (18 Mar);
Icterus pustulatus 1 (16 Jun).

Species detected at localities in the Sierra de Huautla in montane
forest included the following: Campylopterus hemileucurus 7 (14 Sep);
Colibri thalassinus 5 (17 Oct); Amazilia cyanocephala 7 (14-15 Sep), 8
(20 Oct); Amazilia beryllina 7 (14 Sep); Lampornis amethystinus 5 (12
Sep); Lamprolaima rhami 5 (12 Sep, 17 Oct); Eugenes fulgens 5 (13 Sep,
17 Oct), 6 (17 Oct); Trogon mexicanus 6 (11 Sep); Empidonax hammondii
6 (18-20 Oct); Empidonax difficilis 7 (15 Sep); Cinclus mexicanus 7 (14
Sep); Myadestes occidentalis 5 (12-17 Sep, 17 Oct); Catharus occidentalis
5 (12 Sep); Turdus assimilis 5 (17 Nov); Melanotis coerulescens 6 (18
Oct); Sezurus motacilla 6 (18 Oct); Oporornis tolmiei 8 (20 Oct); Wilsonia
pusilla 8 (20 Oct); Basileuterus rufifrons 8 (20 Oct); Basileuterus belli 5
(18 Oct); Cyanerpes cyaneus 7 (14 Sep); Chlorospingus ophthalmicus 5
(24 Mar, 12 Sep); Atlapetes brunneinucha 6 (21 Oct); Carduelis psaltria
8 (20 Oct).

The Sierra de Huautla list includes a number of species that are
ecologically restricted to both cloud forest and humid pine-oak forest,
such as Lampornis amethystinus, Lamprolaima rhami, and Atlapetes
brunneinucha, but only two, Campylopterus hemileucurus and Chloro-
spingus ophthalmicus, are largely confined to cloud forest. Further
ornithological exploration of the Sierra de Huautla is needed to
determine if a well-developed cloud forest community exists there, as

predicted by Binford (1989).

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank A. Townsend Peterson and Laurence C. Binford for their help in
preparing the manuscript.

References:

Binford, L. C. 1989. A distributional survey of the birds of the Mexican state of Oaxaca.
Orn. Monogr. no. 43, American Ornithologists’ Union.

Ligon, L. D. 1968. The biology of the Elf Owl, Micrathene whitneyi. Misc. Publ. Mus.
Zool. Univ. Mich. no. 136: 1-70.

Phillips, A. R. 1964. Notas sistematicas sobre aves Mexicanas. III. Rev. Soc. Mex. Hist.
Nat. 25: 217-242.

Rowley, J. S. 1966. Breeding records of birds of the Sierra Madre del Sur, Oaxaca,
Mexico. Proc. West. Found. Vert. Zool. 1: 107-204.

Rowley, J. S. 1984. Breeding records of land birds in Oaxaca, Mexico. Proc. West. Found.
Vert. Zool. 2: 73-224.

Rzedowsky, J. 1978. La Vegetacién de México. Ed. Limusa. México, D. F.

Address: Emma Cisneros-Palacios and Carlos Bonilla-Ruz, Centro Interdisciplinario de
Investigaciones para el Desarrollo Integral Regional, Oaxaca (CIIDIR-Oaxaca),
Apartado postal 24-Admon. 3, Oaxaca, Oaxaca, C.P. 68081, México.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

S. Haftorn 216 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus
imitating the song of the Chiffchaft
P. collybita

by Svein Haftorn

Received 2 October 1992

A mixed singer of the genus Phylloscopus, most probably a Willow
Warbler P. trochilus, was observed and tape-recorded at Heimdal
(63°19'N, 10°21’E) close to Trondheim in central Norway in July 1983.
A similar songster, probably the same individual, had claimed the same
territory also in the previous year. The bird sang a pure Willow
Warbler song (most commonly), a pure Chiffchaff song (less fre-
quently) and a mixture of the songs of both species. It nearly always
started with a varying number of Chiffchaff figures, which without any
pause were followed by a final part of the Willow Warbler song. The
immediate impression, that the Chiffchaff figures were bewilderingly
similar to those of an authentic Chiffchaff, was fully confirmed by
sonagram analyses, although the bird sang at a significantly higher
speed.

For more than a hundred years it has been known that warblers of
the genus Phylloscopus occasionally sing songs which are more or less a
compound of normal Willow Warbler song and normal Chiftchaff song
(see ‘Tiainen 1991 and references therein). Understandably, some
doubts were raised about the identity of such singers, whether they
were genuine Willow Warblers or Chiffchafts, or hybrids between these
two species. Schubert (1969) reviewed the literature on this topic and
came to the conclusion that the birds concerned were neither hybrids
nor Chiffchafts, but Willow Warblers that had learned the song of the
sibling species. The mixed singers always lacked the typical, faint trett
calls, which the Chiffchaff often utters during the pauses between
songs. Another transcription of this call is tavre (Haftorn 1971), to
indicate that it in fact is disyllabic (Fig. 1a).

More recently, Haensel & Lippert (1976) described a German mixed
singer which they determined without doubt (“‘einwandfrei’’) as being a
Chiffchaff, on account of morphological characters and the presence of
species-specific trett calls between songs. Furthermore, in Ireland,
Wilson (1986) observed a Chifftchaff mixed singer, the specific identity
of which was established by trapping and ringing.

In a few cases “‘mixed singers’? have been tape-recorded and their
songs analysed by means of spectrographs (Schubert 1969, Haensel &
Lippert 1976, Helb et al. 1985, Wolf 1986). In the present paper I
describe the first known record of a mixed singer in Norway and
probably the second record for Scandinavia as a whole. In April 1990 a
mixed singer, that exhibited all the important characteristics of a
Chiffchaff, was detected at Angelholm, Scania, in Sweden (Fritz &
Hernborg 1990).

S. Haftorn 217 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

iS

Figure 1. (a) The faint and dry terr or tirre sound, which the Chiffchaff frequently utters
during the interval between songs (Klaebu, 28 June 1967). (b) The corresponding sound
of the Willow Warbler, a soft note, which is inaudible at a distance, just as the
Chiffchaffs tirre. The two calls depicted were given by the mixed singer at Heimdal (13
July 1983) between two songs. The same call is also seen as an introduction to the mixed
song in Fig. 4.

Material and methods

In July 1983, Karl G. Larsson drew my attention to a peculiar Willow
Warbler in the suburb of Heimdal (63°19'N, 10°21’E) close to
Trondheim, in Sor-Trondelag province in Central Norway. According
to this observer the bird sang the song of the Chiffchaff in addition to
its specific song. A bird with a similar song pattern, most likely the
same individual, had been observed in exactly the same locality the
previous year. However, it did not return in 1984.

On 17-18 July 1983 I watched the bird for several hours and
tape-recorded the song. It claimed a rather small territory, comprising
gardens with lawns bordered by spruce and deciduous trees. I heard
Chiffchaff song in the vicinity and, some distance away, a Willow
Warbler’s typical song. According to Larsson, the Willow Warblers
were clearly outnumbered by Chiffchaffs in this area.

The bird behaved like a typical Willow Warbler and sang when
either sitting in the crown of a spruce or while foraging in the bushes
and trees within its territory. For long periods at a time it uttered pure
Willow Warblers songs (type 1), but then, at irregular intervals, it
suddenly gave forth mixed songs with either figures of both species

S. Haftorn 218 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

(type 2), or, though more seldom, typical Chiffchaff songs without any
components of the Willow Warbler song (type 3). I tape-recorded 111
songs of type 1, 83 of type 2 and 16 of type 3. These totals do not reflect
the true frequencies of the three different song types, however, because
I deliberately selected periods during which the bird was inclined to
incorporate figures from the Chifftchaff song.

The individual observed was not captured and its specific identity
could therefore not be established from morphological characters. wo
traits, however, provided good evidence that it was a Willow Warbler.
Firstly, the frequency of normal Willow Warbler song was far higher
than that of songs including Chiffchaff figures. Secondly, the bird never
incorporated the tirre call, which is so typical for the song of the
Chiftchaff. On the contrary, it used instead a faint wz note (Figs 1b and
4; see also Fig. 2c), which the Willow Warbler occasionally utters in the
pauses between its songs and which seems to be species-specific. ‘This
ui note is probably homologous with the tirre call of the Chiffchaff.

‘The song was recorded using a Sony TC-D5 PRO recorder, fitted
with a Dan Gibson reflector, and was analysed on sound spectrographs
(Voiceprint ser. 700, and Uniscan II with hardcopy digital sonagrams
printed on Epson FX-85 printer).

Results

As already mentioned, the bird’s song repertoire contained three main
versions: (1) the normal Willow Warbler song, which dominated its
repertoire, (2) mixed song, which ranked second in numbers, and (3)
pure Chiffchaff song, which definitely was the one most rarely
performed.

Normal song

The normal song of the bird was of the ‘spontaneous’ type, i.e. that
delivered in undisturbed situations (Fig. 2d—e). I never heard the
‘“A-song”’ (sensu Jarvi et al. 1980) used during territorial combats.
Because the bird was not involved in any agonistic situation during my
stay, performance of the A- -song was unlikely in any case. For
comparison, Figure 2a—c shows various types of ‘spontaneous’ songs of
Willow Warblers from two other Norwegian breeding localities.

Mixed song

Mixed song consisted of parts of the song of the Willow Warbler and
the Chiffchaff combined (Fig. 3). It nearly always started with the
Chiftchaff song (sometimes very few figures as shown in Fig. 3d) and
then it suddenly, without any break, switched to a final part of the
normal Willow Warbler song. Thus, the complete Willow Warbler
song was never incorporated into a mixed song. The bird simply
replaced the first part of the conspecific song with figures taken from
the Chiffchaff’s song. The song length was apparently the same as that
of its normal song (means 3.8 + 0.61 s, n=20, and 3.5+0.82s, n=21,
2-tailed Mann-Whitney U-test, P=0.19).

S. Haftorn 219 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

S-1

A NA ALMA Dp oS

1s

Figure 2. (a—b) Two types of full song by one and the same Willow Warbler (Klaebu, 18
May 1992). (c) Song by another Willow Warbler (Venabu, 24 June 1990). Notice the
faint introductory note (a), which is homologous to the ‘interval signal’ shown in Fig. 1b,
although somewhat different in shape. (d—e) Two versions of pure Willow Warbler song
given by the mixed singer at Heimdal (13 July 1983). S-I-S-II=syllables I-II (see text).

S. Haftorn 220 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

eae WLUY te Tings

trochilus

NNN ee

trochilus

is by tah anand oP. ae

collybita

bi DRDMCE SC eine

Co snetnanaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnecnnnnnaasnneesecnnnasnsneanereecennnnanaaneertttee S

8 egeTay) i trochilus
6 ' 1 Lal ( i 4a
7h cing aa on ag e We Wyss

collybita Vie ee Sh

Aili ap RAG aS TGA —
ie Sannnr ad gf al of SN J a

1s

Figure 3. Four examples of mixed song given by the mixed singer at Heimdal (13-14
July 1983), starting with Chiffchaff figures and ending up with an abbreviated song of the

Willow Warbler. See main text for further information. S-I—S-III=syllables I-III (see
text).

The initial figures in the mixed song were usually incomplete and
uttered very softly (as in normal Willow Warbler song), but then
increased rapidly in loudness and became Chiffchaff-like. The total
number of figures occurring in this a-part for the song was most
commonly 6-13.

According to Jarvi et al. (1980), each male Willow Warbler possesses
about 80 different song figures. The present mixed singer possessed at
least 36 different figures, the Chiffchaff-like ones omitted. When, sooner
or later in the song, the bird switched over to the Willow Warbler part,
the initial figures in this b-part were not selected at random, however. It
clearly favoured two syllables, which were distinguished only by the first
figure. The syllables I and IJ in Figure 3a, b were chosen in 30 and 24
instances, respectively, out of the total of 83 mixed songs recorded. A
third syllable (III in Fig. 3c) was used only 6 times, whereas a variety of

S. Haftorn 221 Bull. B.O.€. 19931134)

kHz

collybita

Figure +. A series of Chiffchaff figures inserted in Willow Warbler song of the mixed
singer at Heimdal (13 July 1983). The very first note shown (a) is a typical “‘interval
signal’ (see Fig. 1). The first figure in S-I is somewhat aberrant (cf. Fig. 3a).

figures opened the b-part in the remaining 23 mixed songs. The figures
comprising the rest of the b-part varied somewhat in structure from one
song to the next, the whole phrase descending in pitch and fading away
in the usual species-specific manner. Quite often, however, the syllables
I and II were followed by the figures d (Fig. 3a) or f (Fig. 3b,d). The
overall impression was that the bird just copied a version of the final part
of its normal Willow Warbler song. But a close study revealed that the
syllables I and II did not appear nearly as often in the bird’s normal song
as they did i in the mixed song; the respective proportions were 23.4% and
65.1% (y°=34.0, P<0.001).

Only rarely did the bird deviate from the pattern described. Twice it
started with the normal Willow Warbler song and then terminated with
one Chiffchaff-like figure, and twice one and 10 Chiffchaff figures,
respectively, were inserted into normal Willow Warbler song. In the
latter case the character of the Chiffchaff song was almost lost because
of the rapid sequence of figures (Fig. 4).

Copies of pure Chiffchaff song

Songs composed of pure Chiffchaff-like figures were recorded only
16 times. The first figures in each song were usually softer than in
genuine Chifichaff song (thus maintaining a marked Willow Warbler
trait), but the rest of the song was extremely Chiffchaff-like (Fig. 5).
Except for the hook on top of several imitated figures it is hard to see
any difference from genuine song. Similar hooks may also be found,
although rarely, in true Chiffchaff song as well (Thielcke & Linsenmair
1963). In fact, every one of the seven minute characters found in the
‘basic’ Chiffchaff figure (see Fig. 4 in Thielcke & Linsenmair 1963) was
exactly copied by the imitator. The pitch (approx. 4-7 kHz) and the
amplitude of the imitator’s song were also identical with normal
Chiffchaff song. And, just as in genuine Chiffchaff song, the pitch and
amplitude were kept at the same level throughout, in contrast to typical
Willow Warbler song, which falls in pitch and fades away.

In one respect the imitator clearly differed from the Chiffchaff,
however. It sang its song at a significantly higher speed (more figures per
unit time) than any of the three Chiffchaffs with which it was compared
(Mann-Whitney U-test, 2-tailed, P<0.001). On the other hand, the song

S. Haftorn 222 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

kHz
10

eT Ue Ry Why ep

10 b

1 la Fan ate ule Sn ne et

ba vallget os hy thes Lislapee ty ollp-nlkeridgreel ly bo eames

d

COOL rage ae

cians Wil tplpaboi oom Hy

15

Figure 5. (a-b) Two songs of one and the same Chiffchaff (Klaebu, 18 May 1992). (c)
Song of another Chiffchaff (Klaebu, 28 June 1967). (d—e) Examples of the mixed singer at
Heimdal imitating pure Chiffchaff song (13-14 July 1983).

figures were delivered at a significantly slower rate than in normal
Willow Warbler song, whether sung by the imitator itself (P<0.0001) or
another Willow Warbler (P<0.0001). Hence, the speed of the imitator’s
pure Chiffchaff song was intermediate between true Chiffchaff song and
normal Willow Warbler song. The speed depended on the duration of
the intervals between the figures, not the length of figures.

Discussion

From the cases described in literature it appears that mixed singers of
the Willow Warbler nearly always start with figures of the Chiffchaft
song and then without break end up with the final part of the Willow
Warbler song (Gwinner & Dorka 1965, Schubert 1969, Frost 1986,
Wolf 1986). However, it occasionally happens that the birds reverse the
order of song parts, or insert figures of the Chifftchaff in the Willow
Warbler song (Schubert 1969, Wolf 1986, Tiainen 1991). The song of
the bird described in the present paper, most likely a Willow Warbler

S. Haftorn 223 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

(see ‘‘Material and methods’’), was in complete accordance with this
song pattern.

Also two mixed singers identified as Chiffchaffs began their songs
with Chiffchaff figures and terminated with Willow Warbler song
(Haensel & Lippert 1976, Wilson 1986). A ringed Scottish mixed
singer turned out to be a bird which two years earlier was brought up
by a male Chiftchaff and a female Willow Warbler. Its intermediate
morphological characters indicated that it was a hybrid (Prato & Prato
1986). Its unusual song “‘was best described as Chiffchaff-type phrases
preceding and following typical Willow Warbler song’’.

Hence, it seems justifiable to conclude that the Chiffchaff and Willow
Warbler occasionally copy each other’s songs and utter the sibling song
along with or mixed up with species-specific song figures. This situation
makes the hypotheses put forward by Gwinner & Dorka (1965) and
Schubert (1969), namely that the Willow Warbler might be phylogeneti-
cally younger than the Chiffchaff and genetically have preserved a
predisposition to learn the Chiffchaff song, less likely. The two Euro-
pean species of Treecreepers, Certhia familiaris and C. brachydactyla,
are also known to copy each other’s songs (Thielcke 1960).

That the bird described here delivered Chiffchaff figures at a higher
speed than in normal Chiffchaff song, seems to be typical of such
singers (Gwinner & Dorka 1965, Helb et al. 1985). Gwinner & Dorka
(1965) also noticed that the Chiftchaff-figures of the mixed singer had a
higher frequency than in the normal Chiffchaff song. The present
imitator, however, uttered its Chiffchaff song at the same frequency
level as in normal Chiffchaff song (in Fig. 5 compare a—c with d-e).

There seems to be a common trend among mixed singers to start
with patterns of the alien species’ song and end up with parts of the
conspecific song. Good examples are provided by (the imitator coming
first) Certhia familiaris—C. brachydactyla (Thielcke 1960), Anthus
trivialis—Emberiza citrinella (Helb et al. 1985), Fringilla coelebs—
Carduelis chloris (Helb et al. 1985), Geothlypis trichas—Dendroica
pensylvanica (Kroodsma et al. 1983) and Phylloscopus trochilus—Ph.
collybita (present paper).

Many species, including the Willow Warbler (Schubert 1976), are
probably endowed with an innate ‘auditory template’ for learning their
own specific song (see for example Slater 1989). Mixed singing could,
according to Helb et al. (1985), be explained by ‘‘a temporary or
permanent lack of a conspecific model together with exposure to an
alien species during the sensitive phases of song learning’’. As these
authors point out, a favourable condition for mixed song learning can
be established when a species outnumbers its sibling species in an area
of sympatry, which is in accordance with the numerical relationship
between the Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff at Heimdal. Because of the
numerical dominance of Chiffchaffs in this area (K. G. Larsson pers.
comm.) a young Willow Warbler in its sensitive phase of song learning
might have been tutored by neighbouring Chiffchafts. Although the
two species occupy almost mutually exclusive territories (Sather 1983),
it is likely that songs of Chiffchaffs are well within earshot of Willow
Warblers reared in the area. Moreover, the Chiffchaff is an

S. Haftorn 224 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

extraordinarily vigorous songster with a very long song _ period,
enhancing its chances of being heard by young Willow Warblers in
their critical phase of learning. ‘The prerequisite for this explanation is
of course that the actual mixed singer was brought up at Heimdal or at
another locality where Chiffchaffs are abundant. The first alternative is
the less likely, because natal philopatry is very low in the Willow
Warbler. At Polish, Finnish and Scottish control areas only 0-—2% of the
nestlings and 2—5% of the fledglings were recovered (Tiainen 1991).

Acknowledgement

I am indebted to P. A. Tallantire for improving the English.

References:

Fritz, O. & Hernborg, K. 1990. Hybrid mellan gransangare och lovsangare? Var
Fagelvarld 49: 435-436.

Frost, R. A. 1986. Phylloscopus warbler with songs of Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler.
Brit. Birds 79: 340-341.

Gwinner, E. & Dorka, V. 1965. Beobachtungen an Zilpzalp-Fitis-Mischsangern.
Vogelwelt 86: 146-151.

Haensel, J. & Lippert, W. 1976. Weidenlaubsanger, Phylloscopus collybita (Vieill.), mit
Gesangsanteilen des Fitis, Phylloscopus trochilus (L.). Beitr. Vogelkd. 22: 26-37.

Haftorn, S. 1971. Norges Fugler. Universitetsforlaget, Oslo.

Helb, H.-W., Dowsett-Lemaire, F., Bergmann, H.-H. & Conrads, K. 1985. Mixed
singing in European songbirds—a review. Z. Tierpsychol. 69: 27-41.

Jarvi, T., Radesater, T. & Jakobsson, 5S. 1980. The song of the Willow Warbler
Phylloscopus trochilus with special reference to singing behaviour in agonistic
situations. Ornis Scand. 11: 236-242.

Kroodsma, D. E., Meservey, W. R. & Pickert, R. 1983. Vocal learning in the Parulinae.
Wilson Bull. 95: 140-142.

Prato, S. R. D. & Prato, E. S. 1986. Appearance and song of possible Chiffchaff x Willow
Warbler hybrid. Brit. Birds 79: 341-342.

Schubert, M. 1969. Untersuchung tiber die akustischen Parameter von Zilpzalp-Fitis-
Mischgesangen. Beitr. Vogelkd. 14: 354-368.

Schubert, M. 1976. Das akustische Repertoire des Fitislaubsangers (Phylloscopus t.
trochilus) und seine erblichen und durch Lernen erworbenen Bestandteile. Beztr.
Vogelkd. 22: 167-200.

Slater, P. J. B. 1989. Bird song learning: causes and consequences. Ethology Ecology &
Evolution 1: 19-46.

Sether, B.-E. 1983. Mechanism of interspecific spacing out in a territorial system of the
Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita and the Willow Warbler P. trochilus. Ornis Scand.
14: 154-160.

Thielcke, G. 1960. Mischgesang der Baumlaufer Certhia brachydactyla und C. familiars.
J. Orn. 101: 286-290.

Thielcke, G. & Linsenmair, K. W. 1963. Zur geographische Variation des Gesanges des
Zilpzalps, Phylloscopus collybita, in Mittel- und Stidwesteuropa mit einem Vergleich
des Gesanges des Fitis, Phylloscopus trochilus. 7. Orn. 104: 372-402.

Tiainen, J. 1991. Phylloscopus trochilus (Linnaeus 1758)—Fitis, Fitislaubsanger. In Glutz
v. Blotzheim, U. N. (ed.) Handbuch der Végel Mitteleuropas. Vol 12/11: 1292-1357.
Aula-Verlag, Wiesbaden.

Wolf, M. 1986. Fitis-Zilpzalp-Mischgesanger bei Echartsau. Egretta 29: 31-36.

Wilson, C. 1986. Chiffchaff with songs of Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler. Brit. Birds 79:
342.

Address: Dr Svein Haftorn, University of Trondheim, The Museum, N-7004
Trondheim, Norway.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

C. G. Violant & B. Massa 225 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

Extinction of the Andalusian Hemipode
Turnix s. sylvatica (Desf.) in the
Mediterranean region

by Carlo G. Violant S& Bruno Massa
Received 10 October 1992

Among the 13 species of button quails belonging to the Old World and
Australasian genus Turnix, the Andalusian Hemipode Turnix sylvatica
(Desfontaines 1787) has been divided into the greatest number of
subspecies (24 following Howard & Moore 1984, 9 according to
Johnsgard 1991), and has the widest distribution (S.W. Europe, Africa
north and south of the Sahara, E. Iran, India, $.E. Asia, Philippine Is.,
Indonesia, New Guinea and Bismarck Archipelago, N.W. Australia).
In particular, in the western Palearctic, the range of the nominate
subspecies Turnix s. sylvatica in historical times included the western
and southern Iberian Peninsula, N.W. Africa from Morocco to N.
Cyrenaica, N. Algeria and N. Tunisia, as well as Sicily where it became
extinct around the beginning of the present century.

Current status

Today the presence of the Andalusian Hemipode (or striped
Button-quail) in the western section of its former range (Mediterranean
area) is strongly fragmented and poorly known. Urban et al. (1986)
mention six records of the bird from the west and north coasts of
Morocco since 1963; according to Bergier & Bergier (1991) the
Andalusian Hemipode is a very rare resident, the biology of which is
almost unknown in Morocco; it appears to be restricted to two regions,
the eastern Mediterranean coast near the mouth of Moulouya wadi and
the Atlantic coast between Casablanca and Safi. A recent observation of
a single male singing (Thévenot 1989) was made in 1988 near Skhirat
(north of the quoted Atlantic area). As regards Algeria, a last record
from the mouth of Oued Zhour in 1976 was reported by Burnier
(1979); no other recent record is reported by Ledant et al. (1981). In
Tunisia, four individuals were recorded in 1972 10 km north of Cape
Sousse by Thomsen & Jacobsen (1979). As regards Libya, Bundy
(1976) considers it as a “possibly scarce resident and overlooked’’ and
reports just one recent probable observation in palm scrub east of
Garrabulli in 1967.

As regards the Iberian Peninsula, we were able to find few recent
records, all in western Andalusia: a captured individual in the Donana
dunes, unspecified numbers observed in Huelva department (Purroy
1982), one at Coto del Rey in 1986, another in the Acebuche in 1987,
and one pair in the same site in 1988 (Llandres & Urdiales 1990). In the
Coto Donana Museum there are six specimens labelled as from Huelva
and Cadiz, dating from 1964 to 1981 (José Cabot in litt.). According to
Llandres & Urdiales (1990), the Andalusian population is probably one

C. G. Violani GS B. Massa 226 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

of the last living in the Mediterranean area, once very common and
widespread, now on the verge of extinction.

Finally, as regards Italy, the Andalusian Hemipode never inhabited
Sardinia (fide Salvadori 1872; contra Cramp 1980: 534). This erroneous
record probably originated from a very old mislabelled specimen in the
Leiden Museum. It was instead a former resident breeder in Sicily,
extinct not later than 1920, probably due to both hunting and land
reclamation. According to Iapichino & Massa (1989) it occurred mainly
in garigue with Chamaerops humilis along the south coast from Gela to
Mazara, probably was scarcer near Catania and Ragusa, and was absent
from northern Sicily (one shot near Palermo was reported as
exceptional by Doderlein, 1869-74). It was fairly common in the 19th
century (Benoit 1840), but greatly decreased during its last decades.
Doderlein (1869-74) could shoot 10-15 hemipodes daily on the south
coast in 1862-70, while Gigholi (1889) and Angelini (1892) listed T.
sylvatica as nearly extinct. Whitaker (1896, 1905) reported that it was
once plentiful in all parts of the southern and southwestern provinces,
“where its favourite haunts were tracts of uncultivated moorland,
among the clumps of dwarf broom-palm and other scrub vegetation’.
‘The last documented records were : singles shot at Falconara, autumn
1910 (Orlando 1958), and at Castelvetrano, 1913 (Sorci et al. 1973), and
a doubtful occurrence at Agrigento in 1914 (Arrigoni degli Oddi 1929).
Its extinction as late as the 1940-—50s claimed by Orlando (1958) is
considered a mistake (Iapichino & Massa 1989). The birds were
sedentary and lived alone, except during the incubating period (May to
the end of August), with the formation of monogamous pairs (Arrigoni
degli Oddi 1929). Few specimens of genuine Sicilian origin are now
preserved in the main Italian and foreign museums; they were collected
in the wild not later than 1920.

Biometrics

In order to make a comparison with other sources, we have tried to
get more mensural data from a larger number of specimens than those
examined in Cramp (1980). We have examined several specimens of T.
s. sylvatica (28 males and 44 females) from the ornithological
collections of the Museums of Florence, Rome, Palermo, 'Terrasini,
‘Turin, Geneva, Tring, Edinburgh, Belfast, Bonn, Leiden, Amsterdam,
Vienna (see also Schifter 1992) and the collection of Istituto Tecnico di
Modica, Ragusa; 12 males and 12 females of TJ. s. dussumier
(Temminck), 32 males and 24 females of T. s. lepurana (Smith) (all in
BMNH). The following measurements were taken: flattened wing and
tarsus lengths according to Svensson (1975), upper mandible length
from the feathering to tip (bill length). Because of the difficulties in
taking accurate tail lengths from old skins, we did not use this
measurement.

Table 1 gives the results geographically divided into three
populations, namely Sicily, North Africa and Spain. We did not find
any statistical difference between them (Sicilian vs North African,
Sicilian vs Spanish, Spanish vs North African measures), except the
wing length of Sicilian vs North African males (t test=2.53; P<0.01;

C. G. Violant S B. Massa 227/ Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)
TABLE'1

Measurements of Turnix sylvatica sylvatica (Desf.), in mm

Wing Bill length Tarsus
nm range mean+s.d. n range mean + s.d. n range mean + s.d.
Sicily
3S 15 73-92 87.07+4.64 15 10-14 11.69+1.11 15 20-24 22.35 41.34
22 2 83-97 92.58+4.35 1110.5-15 12.4541.32 11 20-26.3 23.41+2.04
North Africa
Rene oO 5-060, 62.78 2261 2 Oe 9-132 11 60) 137 9), 212401 226 8)ses 09
22 «23: «84-98 91.95+4.18 22 11-15 12.82+0.90 23 19-26 23.46 + 1.62
Spain
3S 4 79-89 84.5044.10 4 11-12.5 11.62+0.65 4 20-23.5 21.62+1.63
22 9 86-97 92.10+3.75 8 12-14 13.19+0.86 9 22-26 23.1941.35
TABLE 2
Measurements of the three subspecies of Turnix sylvatica considered, in mm
Wing Bill length Tarsus
n range mean+s.d. n range mean + s.d. n range mean + s.d.
T. s. sylvatica (Desf.) (specimens in Table 1, combined)
3S 28 73-92 85.32+4.47 28 9-14 1165E W159 28920-2421 22335: 1°36
22 «44 «83-98 92.16+4.15 4110.5-15 12.79+1.06 43 19-26 23.29 + 1.68
T. s. dussumier (Temm.)

$$ 12 65-72 67.7042.07 12 9-11 9.75+0.72 12 16.5-18 16.80 + 0.51
22 12 70-76 73.60+41.55 12 10-12 10.70+0.62 12 17-20 18.33 + 0.94

T. s. lepurana (Smith)
32 72-80 75.9042.24 33 9-12 10.60+0.66 33 16-20 18.48 + 0.99
24 75-89 82.9043.20 24 10-12.5 11.20+0.73 24 18-21 19.40 + 0.96

too,
tOO,

f.d.=22). This difference may be due to the degree of isolation of the
Sicilian population. We also found significant differences between males
and females in wing length (t test Sicily=3.151; P<0.01; f.d.=25; North
Africa=6.079; P<0.001; f.d.=29; Spain=3.286; P<0.01; f.d.=11) and
between North African and Spanish specimens in bill length (t
test North Africa=2.900; P<0.01; f.d.=28; Spain=3.194; P<0.01;
f.d.=10).

Thus we pooled together all sexed specimens from Sicily, North
Africa and Iberia (Table 2). We were able to broaden considerably the
range of wing length for the males (73-92 mm), as compared with
83-92 given in Cramp (1980). For females, although our maximum
wing length was shorter than that reported by Cramp, our range was
somewhat wider: range 83-98, mean 92.2, cf. 91-101 and 97.3 in
Cramp, whose measurements were based on a smaller number of skins.

C. G. Violani & B. Massa 228 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

Because we also examined the BMNH and RMNH specimens, used
for biometrics in Cramp (1980), it is possible that differences between
our results and those reported by Cramp (1980) could be the result
of different techniques in taking measurements. For bill and tarsus
lengths, both for males and females, our results widen the range given
in Cramp (1980). We found statistically significant differences
between males and females (t test wing length=6.584; P<0.001;
f.d.=69; bill length=4.215; P<0.001; f.d.=66; tarsus=2.731; P<0.01;
f.d.=68).

We have some data to support the hypothesis that Mediterranean
Turnix sylvatica is a good taxon, isolated from sub-Saharan and Asiatic
forms. Table 2 reports our results compared with biometric data of T.
s. lepurana from sub-Saharan Africa and T. s. dussumier from Asia,
which should be the geographically closest living forms. Our
measurements of 7. s. lepurana do not differ much from those recorded
by Urban et al. (1986); only the female wing is notably longer than
ours, 86.5 vs 82.9. The wing length of T. s. dussumier measured by us is
slightly different from what has been reported by Vaurie (1965) (males,
70.6 vs 67.7; females, 75 vs 73.6).

As a matter of fact, there are remarkable biometric differences, well
justified by the great isolation of these populations and by the high
degree of sedentariness which prevents any gene flow. The differences
between T. s. sylvatica and both T. s. lepurana and T. s. dussumier are
highly significant (t test: in all the cases P<0.0001); we also found
statistical differences between T. s. lepurana and T. s. dussumier (t test,
males: bill, wing and tarsus, P<0.0001; females: wing, P<0.0001; bill,
P<0.05; tarsus, P<0.003). The circum-Mediterranean form might be
considered as an example of gigantism by isolation.

Concluding remarks

‘Today the Andalusian Hemipode is present in only 3—4 small areas of
its original Mediterranean range and probably its total population is so
small as to be considered on the very brink of extinction. Biometric
data of the Mediterranean form show that it is very different from
sub-Saharan and Asiatic forms; thus its extinction would mean the
irretrievable loss of an example of Mediterranean endemism. Any
future attempt aiming at replacing Turnix s. sylvatica with other
subspecies for reintroduction purposes would be therefore unjustified
and should be totally discouraged.

Acknowledgements

For access to specimens in their care, we are grateful to the directors and staff of: Museo
Zoologico Universitario “‘La Specola’’, Firenze; Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Roma;
Museo di Zoologia dell’ Universita, Palermo; Museo Regionale di Terrasini, Palermo;
Museo di Zoologia dell’Universita, Torino; Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle, Genéve;
British Museum (Natural History), Subdept. Ornithology, Tring; Ulster Museum,
Belfast; Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh; Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie,
Leiden; Institute of Taxonomic Zoology (Zoologische Museum), Amsterdam;
Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Vienna; Museum A. Koenig, Bonn; Istituto Tecnico
di Modica, Ragusa.

C. G. Violani S& B. Massa 229 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

References:

Arrigoni degli Oddi, E. 1929. Ornitologia Italiana. Hoepli ed., Milano.

Angelini, G. 1892. Nota sulla Quaglia tridattila (Turnix sylvatica). Boll. Soc. Romana
Staz. Zool. 1: 95-99.

Benoit, L. 1840. Ornitologia Siciliana. G. Fiumara ed., Messina.

Bergier, P. & Bergier, F. 1991. A Birdwatchers’ Guide to Morocco. Prion Ltd.

Bundy, G. 1976. The Birds of Libya. British Ornithologists’ Union.

Burnier, E. 1979. Notes sur l’ornithologie algérienne. Alauda 47: 93-102.

Cramp, S. (ed.) 1980. The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Vol. 2. Oxford Univ. Press.

Doderlein, P. 1869-74. Avifauna del Modenese e della Sicilia. Giorn. Sc. Nat. Econom. 5:
137-195, 6: 187-236, 7: 9-72, 8: 40-124, 9: 28-93, 10: 35-71 and 133-148.

Giglio, H. E. 1889. Primo resoconto dei risultati dell’Inchiesta Ornitologica. Parte 1.
Avtfauna Italica. Le Monnier ed., Firenze.

Howard, R. & Moore, A. 1984. A Complete Check-list of the Birds of the World.
Macmillan, London.

Iapichino, C. & Massa, B. 1989. The Birds of Sicily. British Ornithologists’ Union.

Johnsgard, P. A. 1991. Bustards, Hemipodes, and Sandgrouse: birds of dry places. Oxford
Univ. Press.

Ledant, J.-P., Jacob, J.-P., Jacobs, P., Malher, F., Ochando, B. & Roché, J. 1981. Mise
a jour de l’avifaune algérienne. Gerfaut 71: 295-398.

Llandres, C. & Urdiales, C. 1990. Las Aves de Dofiana. Lynx, Barcelona.

Orlando, C. 1958. La quaglia tridattila Turnix sylvatica (Desf.). Venatoria Sicula 12:
342-344.

Purroy, F. 1982. Turnix sylvatica in: European News. Br. Birds 75: 25-30.

Salvadori, T. 1872. Fauna d7Italia: Uccelli. Parte 2. Vallardi ed., Milano.

Schifter, H. 1992. A hitherto unrecorded specimen of the Andalusian Hemipode, Turnix
s. sylvatica, from Sicily in the Museum of Natural History, Vienna. Riv. Ital. Orn.
62: 61.
Sorci, G., Massa, B. & Cangialosi, G. 1973. Avifauna delle isole Egadi, con notizie
riguardanti quella della provincia di Trapani (Sicilia). Riv. Ital. Orn. 43: 1-119.
Svensson, L. 1975. Identification Guide to European Passerines. 2nd ed. Nat.
Riksmuseum, Stockholm.

Thévenot, M. 1989. Turnix sylvatica in: European News. Br. Birds 82: 321-329.

Thomsen, P. & Jacobsen, P. 1979. The Birds of Tunisia. Printed by the Authors,
Copenhagen.

Urban, E. K., Fry, C. H. & Keith, S. 1986. The Birds of Africa. Vol. 2. Academic Press.

Vaurie, C. 1965. The Birds of the Palearctic Fauna. Non Passeriformes. H. F. & G.
Witherby, London.

Whitaker, J. 1896. Turnix sylvatica in Sicily. Ibis (7)2: 290-291.

Whitaker, J. 1905. The Birds of Tunisia. Porter, London.

Addresses: Carlo G. Violani, Dipartimento di Biologia Animale, Universita, Piazza Botta
9, 27100 Pavia, Italy. Bruno Massa, Istituto di Entomologia Agraria, Viale delle
Scienze 13, 90100 Palermo, Italy.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

R. Schodde 230 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

Stabilization of the scientific name for the
White-browed Treecreeper (Climacteridae) by
neotypification

by Richard Schodde
Received 20 October 1992

Until 1922, the White-browed Treecreeper, Climacteris affinis Blyth,
had been known as Climacteris superciliosa North. North’s superciliosa
was based on identifiable extant specimens in the Australian Museum
(lectotype: AM 0.9160, male) which had been collected at Illara and
Bagots Creeks, central Australia, on the Horn Scientific Expedition
(North 1895, 1896, Longmore 1991). They are the brown-rumped
western subspecies presently known as Climacteris affinis superciliosa
North, 1895 (cf. Macdonald 1969).

In 1922, Mathews (1922, 1923-4) concluded that superciliosa North,
1895 was preoccupied by affinis Blyth, 1864 as the senior name for the
species. His opinion followed Gadow’s (1883) earlier association of
affims Blyth with the Red-browed Treecreeper Climacteris erythrops
Gould, 1841, before Red-browed and White-browed Treecreepers
were treated as separate species (e.g. Mathews 1912; cf. Howe 1921,
Keast 1957). Blyth (1864) had described Climacteris affinis, along with
Pomatorhinus pileatus for the Australian Chestnut-crowned Babbler,
from a batch of skins sent to him at the Asiatic Society of Bengal,
Calcutta, from the then Melbourne Institute. The provenance of his
material of both species was, as Mathews (1923-4: 121-3) pointed out,
probably the same, that is, northwest Victoria or southwest New South
Wales. Not only the White-browed but also the Brown Treecreeper
Climacteris picumnus 'Temminck, 1824 occur in that region.

Mathews’ determination of the identity of Climacteris affinis Blyth,
like that of Gadow (1883) before him, was based entirely on
interpretation of its original description (Blyth 1864). This Mathews
(1923-4: 123) quoted verbatim: “‘Like CL. ERYTTHROPS, but with
slight pale non-rufous supercilia, which are not conspicuously
noticeable: throat dull whitish, passing to greyish on breast, and a small
central ferruginous spot at base of throat: ear-coverts pale, streaked.
Specimen doubtless of the female sex.’’ Its identification with the
White-browed ‘Treecreeper was accepted by the RAOU Checklist
Committee (1926), with the result that Climacteris affinis Blyth became
firmly established as the senior name for this species.

From the reference to the “‘ferruginous spot”’ on the throat, there can
be no doubt that affinis Blyth was based on a female. However, its
described traits, when compared with those of females of both
White-browed and Brown Treecreepers in Table 1, match those of the
Brown, not the White-browed, pace Mathews (1923-4). To check its
identity, I attempted to trace the holotype. This specimen, originally in
the museum of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, passed with its collections
to the Indian Museum, Calcutta, which came under the aegis of the

R. Schodde 231 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

TABLE 1
Traits of female White-browed and Brown Treecreepers in comparison with characters
described for Climacteris affinis Blyth in its protologue

Trait

supercilia

throat

breast

sexual markings

ear coverts

female
White-browed
Treecreeper

white, suffused
deep rufous over
upper margins;
distinct

(greyish-) white

heavily streaked,
feathers with
white shafts and
rufous to dusky
margins

broad rufous
streaking to
feather margins
over upper
breast, extending
to lower throat

contrastingly
streaked with

female
Brown
Treecreeper

plain off-white; less
distinct

dull cream-white

plain greyish fawn

small group of
rufous spots (on
feather margins)
restricted to
centre at base of
throat

palely streaked,
with broad cream

Climacteris
affinis Blyth,

as described

pale, non-rufous;
not conspicuously
noticeable

dull whitish

greyish

small central
ferruginous spot
at base of throat

pale, streaked

narrow white
shafts and dark
grey feather
margins

shafts and dull
grey feather
margins

Zoological Survey of India in 1916 (Sharpe 1906: 312; Mathews 1925,
S. S. Saha pers. comm.); it was not among material transferred to the
British Museum during the late 1800s (Sharpe 1906: 395), and is not
cited among specimens and types of Climacteris in BMNH by Gadow
(1883) or Warren & Harrison (1971). According to S. S. Saha, the
officer presently in charge of the bird section of the Indian Museum
(pers. comm.), much of the avian collection of the Asiatic Society in the
Indian Museum, including its specimens of Australian origin, was
destroyed by an earlier Superintendent; and most of the remainder
were lost later by flood when the collections were shifted temporarily to
Benares (= Varanasi) during World War II. No trace of the type of
Climacteris affinis or of any other nominal species of Australian birds
described by Blyth can now be found there. I confirmed this result on
a visit to the Indian Museum in May 1992.

The specific application of Climacteris affinis Blyth thus now rests on
its original description alone, which favours synonymy with Climacteris
picumnus Temminck. This transfer would not only introduce confusion
to specific and infra-specific nomenclature in Climacteris but also

R. Schodde 232 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

remove from the White-browed Treecreeper the scientific name by
which it has universally been known for 70 years. To avert such
potential instability in the absence of a name-bearing specimen, I here
designate a neotype for affinis Blyth which is identifiable with the
White-browed Treecreeper, female. It is ANWC 38739, female, from
the topotypic locality Dareton on the border between northwest
Victoria and southwest New South Wales and is deposited in the
Australian National Wildlife Collection, CSIRO, Canberra, ACT,
Australia. It is of the grey-rumped eastern subspecies to which affinis
Blyth has conventionally been applied (cf. Macdonald 1969).
Neotypification here accords with the provisions of Art. 75 of the
International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (1.C.Z.N. 1985) and has
the unanimous concurrence of the Taxonomic Advisory Committee of
the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union and Professor W. J. Bock,
Secretary-Convenor of the Standing Committee on Ornithological
Nomenclature of the International Ornithological Committee.

References:

Blyth, E. 1864. Proc. Asiatic Soc. Bengal 32: 453.

Gadow, H. 1883. Certhiomorphae. Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. 8: 322-366.

Howe, F. E. 1921. The genus Climacteris (Treecreepers). Emu 21: 32-41.

I.C.Z.N. (International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature) 1985. International
Code of Zoological Nomenclature. 3rd edn. International Trust for Zoological
Nomenclature, London.

Keast, A. 1957. Variation and speciation in the genus Climacteris TTemminck (Aves:
Sittidae). Aust. J. Zool. 5: 474-495.

Longmore, N. W. 1991. Type specimens of birds in the Australian Museum. Tech. Rep.
Aust. Mus. 4: 1-42.

Macdonald, J. D. 1969. Variation in the White-browed Treecreeper. Emu 69: 110-111.

Mathews, G. M. 1912. A reference-list to the birds of Australia. Nov7t. Zool. 18: 171-446.

Mathews, G. M. 1922. Additions and corrections. Austral Avian Rec. 5: 1-9.

Mathews, G. M. 1923-4. The Birds of Australia. Vol. XI. H. F. & G. Witherby, London.

Mathews, G. M. 1925. The Birds of Australia. Supplement 4, Bibliography of the Birds of

Australia, Part I. H. F. & G. Witherby, London.

North, A. J. 1895. Preliminary descriptions of a new genus and of five new species of

central Australian birds. [bis (7)1: 339-342.

North, A. J. 1896. Aves. Report on the Work of the Horn Scientific Expedition to Central
Australia, Part II—Zoology. Ed. B. Spencer. Dulau & Co., London.

RAOU Checklist Committee. 1926. The Official Checklist of the Birds of Australia. 2nd
revised edn. Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union, Melbourne. |

Sharpe, R. B. 1906. 3. Birds. Hist. Coll. Nat. Hist. Depts. Brit. Mus. 2: 79-515.

Warren, R. L. M. & Harrison, C. J. O. 1971. Type-specimens of Birds in the British
Museum (National History). Vol. 2, Passerines. British Museum (Natural History),
London.

Address: R. Schodde, Australian National Wildlife Collection, CSIRO Division of
Wildlife and Ecology, PO Box 84, Lyneham, ACT 2602, Australia.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

: a Sos
| be ee,

Want. Pa Sata ea x Lihat a ston an
cre Ma oe aa. BD desoos Saueay we

Oy Saison ws ic yon i

- iorartiys Head ghae SAT r “aEAHeT A | Pus waa Ho ais
ae i 2otie xis te bavol ebw odtideines av, meter ‘etl h,
on isthe ‘Bron. ries Ath) joie 16 (bx out
is mate ) snail sdT. (otie-ybid yasdaut o¢ aA.
oe .: “ylenoiverq, ‘ad. eds “taduid ‘sraw' ebxan 1) (ror was

‘gen Samui Tf (ylogh: iy A oY OOS ey tor! Mnibusite: iy

mur fies Yor: ghisd divtoe iriabrroase ni bas 3e5to4 boo 19 site sihin A.

oles aooubiood betentiniob-pdisO ‘ai o361) me ODE svodh .

ube 35: begs! ating 10 % sone uta sifr cut Pioue aE

Rae th aati ted sit yoisyloni eure | ae i

5 ae Ih Bylo? Bie isatts>
is: Bers. gil Kit) oat ” iho

| Mn “Gsab lect he

“ny! Mas raat a geese % Taser bite Ce oon i ae
a Hist) ap auinileh “YWOrT tSnizkib’ goissqy Bee Stad be

mat inaosot fe ok bere inert Ribot tee

ct foe SsbA Bise- BAe} oF poe “gia

: poke bei rote , a

| y Diese
Te4

ra

Ae hs sis
ae ee Riki as

Fi i “bre seein mae Hesigisvs-i0s2 fm momido3 © a eRe

B. fF. Best et al. 234 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

Distributional records, natural history notes,

and conservation of some poorly known birds

from southwestern Ecuador and northwestern
Peru

by Brinley 7. Best, Christopher T. Clarke, Matthew
Checker, Amanda L. Broom, Richard M. Thewlis,
Will Duckworth & Angus McNab

(Continued from p. 119)

CHAPMAN’S ANTSHRIKE Thamnophilus zarumae alt

This distinctive antshrike was found at six sites in Loja Province,
Ecuador, and at Ayabaca in Piura Department, Peru, from 800 to
2625 m (the highest study-site). The Utuana (2500 m) and Ayabaca
(2625 m) records were higher than the previously known upper
altitudinal limit of 2200 m (R. Ridgely). T. zarumae was uncommon to
fairly common in Semi-evergreen Lower Montane and Humid
Montane Cloud Forest and in secondary scrub, being most common
above 1500m (rare in Ceiba-dominated Deciduous Forest below
1000 m at Tambo Negro). Individuals or pairs foraged at mid-upper
storey level, and fed on insects and fruits, including the berries of a tree
in the family Meliaceae. Males called with a series of descending notes;
females and males also gave a soft contact call, pzwur or ow (all three
vocalizations were tape-recorded).

In accordance with Ridgely & Greenfield (in prep.), TJ. zarumae is
treated here as a species distinct from T. doliatus, from which it is
geographically isolated and differs in plumage (males having barring
only extending to the mid-belly, and solid black crests) and
vocalizations. Although previously considered to be _ threatened
(dropped from the Red Data Book candidate list after initial
consideration; N. Krabbe), our observations and those of other workers
(e.g. Bloch et al. 1991, R. Ridgely) have shown this species is not in
danger, as it occurs commonly in degraded areas.

GREY-HEADED ANTBIRD Myrmeciza griseiceps T, endangered

We found this skulking and enigmatic antbird on four occasions. On
22 September 1989 several were heard and one female seen in bamboo
below Humid Montane Cloud Forest at Cerro Chacras above Ayabaca,
Piura Department, Peru. The call was short, harsh, nasal ursz. On 5
February 1991 at Tambo Negro, Loja Province, Ecuador, a female and
an unsexed individual foraged through thick undergrowth with
Black-capped Sparrows Arremon abeillei beneath Ceiba-dominated
Deciduous Forest. On 6 February 1991 at Utuana (also Loja Province),
a male in bamboo below Humid Montane Cloud Forest uttered a
distinctive short, trilled tirrrrr (Fig. 3a). Immediately after the bird
uttered one trill, a low trrr-trrr and an uzzzz were heard from within
the same bamboo patch; possibly a second bird replying. The trill,

B. }. Best et al. 235 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

Seconds

Figure 3. Calls of (a) Myrmeciza griseiceps, (b) Grallaria watkinsi, (c) and (d) Attila
torridus; a, c and d from recordings made by F. Lambert.

which has not been previously described, probably represents the
territorial song of this poorly-known species.

Many bird species in southwestern Ecuador breed during the rainy
season (Appendix B, Marchant 1958), and these are the first records
of this species during that period. Assuming the M. griseiceps also
breeds at this time, it is thus not surprising that what we consider to
be its territorial song has not hitherto been heard. The generic
position of the species is unclear (Ridgely & Greenfield in prep.): it
may prove not to be a Myrmeciza. The presumed song apparently
does not match any known antbird genus, emphasizing the need for a
taxonomic revision.

On 15 and 16 February 1991 at least five further males gave the
presumed territorial song from thick bamboo and non-bamboo
undergrowth above Vicentino in Loja Province. When not vocalizing
M. griseiceps can be almost impossible to detect in its impenetrable
habitat. It is confined to a very small area of Ecuador’s Loja and El] Oro
Provinces and adjacent Tumbes Department, Peru, and we believe it to

B. F. Best et al. 236 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

be one of the most threatened of the Tumbesian endemics, being at risk
from deforestation, and understorey clearance and trampling.

WATKINS’ ANTPITTA Grallaria watkinsi Aly
Recorded at five sites in Loja Province, Ecuador, from 500 to
2000 m, on the forest floor and on the ground beneath scrub. It was
most easily located by the territorial call, a loud, frequently given, 6-9
note whistle (Fig. 3b). This call is quite distinct from the three-note
whistle of the Chestnut-crowned Antpitta G. ruficapilla, with which G.
watkinst was considered conspecific by Meyer de Schauensee (1970).

Ridgely & Greenfield (in prep.) treat the two as separate species, and
they are usually separated by altitude, but from January to March 1991
at Quebrada Yaguana near Sozoranga, G. watkinsi overlapped with G.
ruficapilla in the altitudinal range 1600-2000 m in the same habitat;
below 1600 m only the former species occurred and above 2000 m only
the latter. G. watkinsi was extremely difficult to observe, being seen
only a handful of times and only once above the forest floor, apparently
preferring more viny, humid undergrowth.

G. watkinsi was formally considered threatened by deforestation and
understorey clearance, being especially vulnerable because of its tiny
range (dropped from the Red Data Book candidate list after initial
consideration; N. Krabbe). Additionally it has been found in degraded
areas by several workers in southwestern Ecuador (this study, R.
Ridgely) and is thus no longer considered to be at risk. It has recently
been found in a new area: the coastal hills of western Ecuador (Krabbe
1992, Parker & Carr 1992), which extends its known range northward.

BLACK-CRESTED TIT-TYRANT A nairetes nigrocristatus

We recorded this distinctive species for the first time in Ecuador at
Utuana, extreme southern Loja Province, on 14 September 1989, and it
was subsequently found there on 6 February 1991. In September 1989
a male and a female foraged together in low shrubs in a clearing
adjacent to cloud forest. In February 1991 a male and female were
again in the same area, and two sightings of single males were made
nearby. On all four occasions the conspicuous black and white plumage
and broadly white-tipped tail of the males were seen. These records
extend the known northern limit of A. nigrocristatus into extreme
southern Ecuador from Piura Department, Peru. Fyjyeldsa & Krabbe
(1990) treated A. nigrocristatus as a species distinct from A. reguloides,
of which it was previously considered a subspecies (Meyer de
Schauensee 1970).

RUFOUS-CROWNED TODY-TYRANT Poecilotriccus ruficeps

On 23 September 1989 an individual foraged in low, humid
secondary growth adjacent to cloud forest at Utuana, Loja Province,
Ecuador. This is only the second report of P. ruficeps on the Andean
west slope in Ecuador south of Chimborazo Province (the two records
collectively extend the known west-slope range south by about
250 km). More significantly, the Utuana individual did not resemble
the northwest Ecuadorian subspecies P. r. rufigenis, since it possessed a

B. }. Best et al. 237 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

strongly rufous head and thick black border to the crown. In these
respects it was very close to the nominate P. r. ruficeps of southeastern
Ecuador. Interestingly, a MECN specimen of P. r. ruficeps, collected
by M. Olalla in 1968, is labelled ‘Cordillera de Tinajillas, Loja
Province” (Krabbe 1991). That and the present record indicate that the
form occurring in southwestern Ecuador may be P. r. ruficeps of eastern
Ecuador rather than P. r. rufigenis of the northwest, a pattern mirrored
by the Chestnut-breasted Coronet Boissonneaua matthewsi (R.
Ridgely). However, subspecific determinations in this species are
difficult and some further revision may be necessary (R. Ridgely, T.
Schulenberg).

GREY-BREASTED FLYCATCHER Lathrotriccus griseipectus 0K
vulnerable/rare
Although not detected during our 1989 survey, several were found in
Ceziba-dominated Deciduous Forest at Tambo Negro (Loja Province)
from January to March 1991, and one individual was located in
Semi-evergreen Lower Montane Cloud Forest at 1750 m at Quebrada
Suquinda (Sozoranga, also Loja Province) on 1 February 1991,
extending the known upper altitudinal limit by 350m. L. grisetpectus
was restricted to forest understorey, where individuals performed short
aerial sallies. One bird chased another through the understorey on 4
February, otherwise they occurred singly. Birds uttered a weak trilled
call, pyur-peer, and a longer three-note peeee-peee-peee (tape-recorded).
Since this species was not found in August and September 1989 at
Tambo Negro (the dry season), it may make seasonal movements. Such
movements are suggested by records of L. griseipectus (considered a
Tumbesian endemic by Cracraft 1985 and Stattersfield et al. in prep.)
as far north as Mindo, Pichincha Province (0°02’S, 78°48’W, BMNH
specimen), and Rio Verde, Esmeraldas Province (1°05'S, 79°30'W,
Norton et al. 1972), both in the northwest of Ecuador; there are also a
small number of records from the upper Maranon valley of
northeastern Peru (specimens in FMNH and LSUMZ; Collar et al.
1992); this phenomenon is discussed further by Clarke (in press). L.
griseipectus is threatened by widespread habitat clearance (Collar et al.
1992, Best in press). Previously considered a member of the genus
Empidonax, Ridgely & Greenfield (in prep.) place this species in the
genus Lathrotriccus which was originally erected for Euler’s Flycatcher
L. euleri (Lanyon & Lanyon 1986).

OCHRACEOUS ATTILA Attila torridus T, endangered

This scarce attila was found at four Ecuadorian sites in February
1991, three in western Loja Province and one in southern El Oro, in
semi-evergreen and evergreen forest from 900-1700 m. The 1700 m
record extends the known upper altitudinal limit of the species by
375m. Two birds sang in each of two forested ravines at Tierra
Colorada (Humid Lower Montane Cloud Forest) from 7 to 20
February, and photographs were obtained. One was seen in the mid-
and understorey making short aerial sallies (once to the ground), and
moving quickly from branch to branch, pumping its tail constantly.

B. F. Best et al. 238 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

One singing bird was accompanied by a second individual in a remnant
forest patch at Quebrada Las Vegas (Humid Lower Montane Cloud
Forest) NE of Alamor on 18-19 February. One silent individual
perched in the lower mid-storey on the edge of a forest patch (Very
Humid Premontane Cloud Forest) at Buenaventura west of Pinas; it
frequently changed perch, scanning intently from each. One bird sang
from humid forest at 1700 m, c. 3 km W of Celica at 4°05’S, 79°58’W,
in early February.

Three different vocalizations were heard and tape-recorded: a
drawn-out whistle, rising then falling in pitch (Fig. 3c); the presumed
true song: a series of 5—7 short whistles ascending in pitch followed by
a deeper, two note finale too-teeoo, the second note rising then falling
(Fig. 3d); and a rapid woop-wee-oo-oo-ee, the first note upward
inflected, the second highest in pitch, and the final note higher than the
third and fourth. A. torridus is almost confined to remnant humid forest
patches in the Tumbesian region (there is one record from SW
Colombia: Blake 1959) and appears to have been overlooked by Collar
& Andrew (1988), probably through lack of data. Recent studies have
shown the species to be apparently forest reliant, and it has been listed
in the Red Data Book of the Americas (Collar et al. 1992).

GOLDEN-NAPED TANAGER Tangara rufivertex

At least two birds were present at each of two sites in Ecuador,
‘Tierra Colorada and Alamor (both Loja Province), and a few sightings
were made at a third, Buenaventura (El Oro Province), during
February and March 1991. These records represent a small southward
range extension on the Andean west slope as the species had not
previously been reported from Loja Province (Ridgely & Tudor 1989,
Ridgely & Greenfield in prep.); additionally there are no other recent
records from E] Oro Province (R. Ridgely).

DUSKY BUSH-TANAGER Chlorospingus semifuscus

Uncommon at Buenaventura (El Oro Province, Ecuador) in
February and March 1991 in the understorey of Very Humid
Premontane Cloud Forest, especially where Weinmannia, Clusia and
Chusquea occurred. This species was not recorded at Buenaventura by
Robbins & Ridgely (1990) during 75 observer days in the dry season
(July-August) over several years, and may be a seasonal visitor to this
site (see discussion). ‘This record extends the known range of C.
semifuscus in Ecuador south by about 300 km from Pichincha Province.
Buenaventura is also the most southerly known locality for several
other humid forest passerine species (e.g. Pale-vented Thrush Turdus
obsoletus, Black-chinned Mountain-Tanager Anisognathus notabilis),
being the southern terminus of the very humid Pacific slope
upper-tropical cloud forest of Colombia and Ecuador (Robbins &
Ridgely 1990).

BLACK-EARED HEMISPINGUS Hemispingus melanotis piurae
We documented the first Ecuadorian record of this very distinctive
race at Utuana (extreme southern Loja Province) on 14 September

B. }. Best et al. 239 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

1989; it was subsequently found to be fairly common there in that year.
The same subspecies was also found in small numbers at Cerro
Chacras, above Ayabaca in Piura Department, Peru. The black crown,
broad white supercilia and strongly rufous underparts were all clearly
seen (and photographed), allowing easy distinction from H. m.
ochraceus of western Colombia and western Ecuador. Groups of 3-8
individuals foraged through the understorey and in Humid Montane
Cloud Forest trees, in single-species flocks and occasionally also with
Plushcaps Catamblyrhynchus diadema in bamboo. H. melanotis was not
seen at Utuana in 1991; this is potentially troubling as a considerable
amount of the cloud forest and bamboo seen in 1989 had by then been
burned, and this species (and others) may have been adversely affected.
However, it is also possible that local seasonal movements take place.
The form piurae may prove to be a distinct species (Ridgely & Tudor
1989) and the above record extends its known range north from Piura
Department, Peru, into southern Ecuador.

BLACK-AND-WHITE TANAGER Conothraupis speculigera

This poorly-known tanager was found at several Ecuadorian sites in
1991 from 320 m (the lowest study-site) to 1800 m as follows: a calling
male at Uzchurrumi (El Oro Province) on 15 February; at least four
calling males at Vicentino on 15 and 16 February (one seen); 10 in
acacia scrub at Catacocha on 4 March; a calling male at Panacillo
(Sozoranga) on 6 March and 10 March; and four calling males along a
400 m trail at Tambo Negro on 7 March (all Loja Province). At all
times the species occurred in scrubland away from forest. Others were
seen or heard calling from scrub on numerous roadside stops between
the study sites.

The call was a two note 27t-z00, with a peculiar icterid-like quality.
No C. speculigera were seen at Tambo Negro between 26 January and 7
February 1991 (when very little rain had fallen, and the vegetation was
almost leafless), but the species was easily located there after 6 March
that year (after several weeks of rain). This may indicate that this
species moves into the area to breed in the rainy season. Indeed, there
is evidence that the species breeds in southwestern Ecuador and
migrates over the Andes to northeastern Peru at the end of the wet
season (Ridgely & Tudor 1989, L. Kiff). A 1987 WF VZ specimen from
Tayntza in Morona-Santiago Province was the first from eastern
Ecuador (R. Ridgely).

BLACK-COWLED SALTATOR Saltator nigriceps Al

Found at three sites in Loja Province, Ecuador, from 1550 to 2500 m,
occurring alone in the mid- and upper storeys of semi-evergreen and
evergreen forest and in scrub away from forest. The species was seen
every few days at Utuana and Sozoranga during August and September
1989 and was found at two sites from January to March 1991: Utuana,
where a calling bird in an area of low scrub uttered a short psee-psiu on
6 February (tape-recorded by F. Lambert); and Sozoranga where four
singles were seen, one of which sang. This species was given
near-threatened status in Collar & Andrew (1988), but our records

B. F. Best et al. 240 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

indicate that it readily survives in degraded habitat, as noted elsewhere
within its restricted range (e.g. Bloch et al. 1991); its near-threatened
status has been dropped in Collar et al. (1992). S. nigriceps is sometimes
considered a subspecies of the Golden-billed Saltator S. aurantiirostris
(Fjeldsa & Krabbe 1990). We follow Ridgely & Greenfield (in prep.) in
treating S. nigriceps as a species distinct from S. aurantiirostris, the
closest race of which (zteratus) does not seem to approach nigriceps in
appearance, lacking the buff throat and underparts, pronounced white
post-ocular stripe, and white basal half to the tail of that race. Their
voices are known to be very dissimilar (R. Ridgely).

Discussion and conclusions

From a distributional standpoint, the most interesting study site was
Utuana in southern Loja Province, Ecuador. In addition to
documenting it as the only known Ecuadorian site for Anairetes
nigrocristatus and Hemispingus melanotis piurae of northern Peru, we
also established the noteworthy occurrence there of an unidentified race
of Poecilotriccus ruficeps. A third potential addition to the Ecuadorian
avifauna at Utuana is a possible Peruvian Sheartail Thaumastura cora
observed by P. Coopmans in July 1991. Further investigation of this
site at different times of year may reveal additional new distributional
information.

‘There is some evidence that local seasonal bird movements occur in
southwestern Ecuador: two sites for which data exist from the wet and
dry seasons show seasonal fluctuations in their avifauna. At
Buenaventura, west of Pinas, in El Oro Province, Ridgely & Robbins
[ANSP] (1990) made intensive surveys during the dry season
(concentrated on July and August; 75 observer days) with only 4
observer days in the wet season; there has also been a short February
study (2 observer days) by N. Krabbe and F. Lambert (Krabbe 1991).
Our work, 38.5 observer days in February-March 1991, thus
represents the first significant survey of this site during the rainy
season. Clarke (in press) found that there are at least 12 species
(excluding austral migrants) which have only been recorded from
Buenaventura at one season. This amounts to about 6 percent of the
total avifauna recorded from the site. At Tambo Negro in extreme
southern Loja Province, a similar proportion were recorded only from
one season. Local seasonal movements may occur throughout the
Tumbesian region and the topic is discussed further in Clarke (in
press).

Prior to our surveys many of the Tumbesian endemics were
primarily (or even solely) considered inhabitants of deciduous forest.
With the exception of Synallaxis tithys each threatened 'Tumbesian
species was found in both deciduous and semi-evergreen or evergreen
forests. Evidence is also accumulating to support the theory that
‘Tumbesian species may move between habitats throughout the year.
Such information has clearly demonstrated that any _ regional
conservation plan must seek to protect all the forest types of the
‘Tumbesian region rather than just the deciduous types.

B. F. Best et al. 241 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)
TABLE 1

Restricted range species recorded at 14 sites in southwestern Ecuador and 1 in
northwestern Peru

Sites
Endemic Bird Area Mtge 2 ae Sree Teele OMA, SEO ONG Aina WS mel ninles
Tumbesian DE] enOw ae OF Oia: Oem eon Or wm uD Di Xo)
Whoco/Eacitic Andes, (10'S 0 3" 1 0" 0 (CORSA Fare Olatiens ep ee Ossie Oyama eran)
South Central Ob 402 ORIOSOF YOO 1 Dt I1OUSO 1 2 Oa 2

Andean forests

Site numbers correspond to: 1, Rio Rircay; 2, Uzhcurrumi; 3, Ona; 4, Buenaventura; 5,
Vicentino; 6, Alamor; 7, Tierra Colorada; 8, Catacocha; 9, Celica; 10, El Empalme; 11, El
Ceibo-Zapotillo; 12, Sozoranga; 13, Utuana; 14, Tambo Negro; 15, Ayabaca.

Of 340 species recorded, 44 have restricted ranges. ‘These are
representatives of three Endemic Bird Areas (Stattersfield et al. in
prep.). Species from the lowland ‘Tumbesian (33 species) and
Choc6o/Pacific slope Andes (8 species) EBAs, together with 3 species
from the more montane South Central Andean forests EBA. This was
reflected in the avifauna of our study sites: "Tumbesian endemics
dominated lower-altitude sites (e.g. Tambo Negro [site 14], Sozoranga
[site 12]) whereas those at higher elevations contained a larger
proportion of Andean endemics (Ayabaca [site 15], Utuana [site 13]).
The strong altitudinal effects can be seen by comparing the avifauna of
Sozoranga and Utuana. Sozoranga was surveyed as low as 1300 m,
whereas at Utuana work was confined to forest patches on the 2500 m
contour. This 1200 m difference in altitude was enough to reduce the
number of Tumbesian endemics found at Utuana by almost 70 percent
(from 21 to 7 species) despite the fact that the two sites are only 7 km
apart. The more humid forests at higher elevations such as at Utuana
are clearly unsuitable for most "Tumbesian endemics. ‘Table 1
summarises the records of restricted range species at the 15 study sites.

The 8 Choco endemics recorded were confined to four humid forest
sites below 1800 m, all 9 being found at Buenaventura (the most humid
forest surveyed). This is not surprising since the characteristic
vegetation of the Choco region is humid lowland rainforest. The humid
forests of southwestern Ecuador mark the southern limit of several
Choco endemics.

We established that in southwestern Ecuador many bird species
breed during the rainy season (December—April). In addition to the 8
species mentioned in the text, 50 other species exhibited breeding
behaviour from January to March 1991 (Appendix A). For 45 species,
our results appear to be the first published breeding data from
southwestern Ecuador. In the dry season survey (August and
September 1989), breeding behaviour was observed in only two
species. Data from the Santa Elena peninsula, situated 200 km to the
northwest, points to a similar congruence between breeding activity
and seasonal rains (Marchant 1958). In northern study sites (especially

B. F. Best et al. 242 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

Buenaventura), the breeding season seemed ahead of sites further
south. Fully-fledged young of several species were observed at
Buenaventura (3°40'S) in early March 1991, whereas at Tambo Negro
(4°23'S) most species were nest-building or incubating at that time.
‘This may be due to local climatic variations.

In the study area as a whole, the distributional and ecological data
collected on the poorly known species are also of value, especially as
their habitats are fast disappearing. Several forest patches shown on
1986 satellite images had been largely removed by 1991. We found 9 of
15 Tumbesian endemics which are considered threatened by Collar et
al. (1992). Field reconnaissance and analysis of satellite images has
revealed that there is only one continuous forest patch with an intact
under-storey (Tambo Negro) larger than 10 km? in the whole of
western Loja and El Oro Provinces (Kessler in press). Dodson &
Gentry (1991) showed that in lowland western Ecuador south of
Esmeraldas Province, less than 5 percent of the original forest remains.
Although the ecology of many ‘Tumbesian endemics is still poorly
understood, our information and that in Collar et al. (1992) suggest that
many species are ill-equipped to withstand any further forest
fragmentation.

The two ‘protected’ areas which could potentially secure the
long-term future of 10 of the threatened Tumbesian endemics (but not
Penelope albipennis, Pyrrhura orcesi, Syndactyla ruficollis, Myrmeciza
griseiceps and Atlapetes pallidiceps) are the Machalilla National Park in
Manabi Province, Ecuador, and the North-West Peru Biosphere
Reserve in 'Tumbes Department, Peru. Unfortunately the park
authorities in both areas lack resources and man-power, and there are
many problems in the parks, including illegal settlement (Collar et al.
1992). Because they remain so vulnerable, outside investment and
support, allowing effective protection of these areas, is an immediate
priority. But as all the threatened "Tumbesian endemics do not occur
within these areas, a forthcoming conservation strategy for the
threatened 'Tumbesian avifauna (Best in press) will also include the
protection of forest fragments within southwestern Ecuador, including
those in the Celica and ‘Tambo Negro regions surveyed during the
current survey.

Abstract

New distributional and ecological data on 31 bird species, gathered during wet and dry
season surveys in the Tumbesian region of Ecuador and Peru, are presented. Black-crested
Tit-Tyrant Anairetes nigrocristatus and Black-eared Hemispingus Hemispingus melanotis of
the race piurae were recorded in Ecuador for the first time; range extensions or new upper
altitudinal limits were obtained on a further 15 species. Nine threatened and eight
near-threatened species were found; of a total 341 species recorded 45 are restricted range
endemics, belonging to three different Endemic Bird Areas. The wet season months of
January—March were found to be the breeding season in the Ecuadorian Provinces of Loja
and El Oro. Deforestation in the region has been so intense that several species may not be
able to persist much longer if current trends continue.

Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to the Ecuadorian Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganaderia, under the
direction of Dr S. Figueroa, for permission to work in the country. J. Larrea (Ecuadorian

B. F. Best et al. 243 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

Embassy, London) was also helpful in obtaining permits. We would also like to thank
DrG. Allport, Dr J. Barkham, Prof. K. Clayton, Dr N. J. Collar, F. Costa, G. Cowles,
Dr J. Cueva, Dr D. and M. Espinosa and family, P. Greenfield, Dr N. Hilgert
(Corporacién Ornitolégica del Ecuador), N. and J. Krabbe and family, Dr M. Kelsey, M.
Kessler, C. Rahbek, Dr S. Strahl, M. L. Tasker, J. Tobias, A. Webb and R. Williams,
who helped in various ways.

Generous financial support came from: Bird Exploration Fund, British Ecological
Society, British Ornithologists’ Union, Cambridge Sarawak Rainforest Expedition 1986,
G. S. and B. Clarke, the late Lt. Col. and Mrs G. G. S. Clarke, L. M. Clarke, C. R.
Cooke O.B.E., Fauna and Flora Preservation Society, Gilchrist Educational Trust, T.
Gullick Bird Tours, J. E. Haith Ltd., International Council for Bird Preservation, Kitty
Pollit Memorial Fund, Dr K. Lewjohann, J. H. McNab, Mills and Reeve Charitable
Trust, G. and Dr M. Munday, Natural History Book Service, People’s Trust for
Endangered Species, Percy Sladen Memorial Fund, Prince’s Trust, A. Reckitt Memorial
Fund, Sir P. Reckitt Educational Trust, Dr. R. Ridgely, Royal Geographical Society, I.
Trolle, University of East Anglia Expeditions Committee, Vegetarian Charity, P. and A.
Watson, Wildlife Conservation International, World Pheasant Association. The
following provided complimentary literature: American Ornithologists’ Union, Collins
Books Ltd, Christopher Helm Ltd, T. and A. D. Poyser Ltd, the Bird and Wildlife
Bookshop, Dr R. Ridgely. R. Ranft of BLOWS kindly produced the sonagrams (from
recordings kindly lent by Dr F. Lambert) and provided advice on tape-recording.

The following provided helpful comments and additions to an earlier draft of this
paper: M. Kessler, N. Krabbe, C. Rahbek, Dr M. Robbins, Dr R. Ridgely, Dr T.
Schulenberg, R. Williams and J. Tobias.

References:

Best, B. J. & Clarke, C. T. (eds) 1991. The Threatened Birds of the Sozoranga Region,
South-West Ecuador. Study Report no. 44, International Council for Bird
Preservation.

Best, B. J. (ed.) 1992. The Threatened Forests of South-West Ecuador. Biosphere
Publications, Leeds, U.K.

Best, B. J. in press. A conservation strategy for the Tumbesian region. In B. J. Best (ed.),
Biodiversity and Conservation in Tumbesian Ecuador and Peru. BirdLife Monograph.

Blake, E. R. 1959. New and rare Colombian birds. Lozania (Acta Zool. Colombiana) 11:
1-10.

Bloch, H., Poulsen, M. K., Rahbek, C. & Rasmussen, J. F. 1991. A survey of the Montane
Forest Avifauna of Loja Province, Southern Ecuador. Study report no. 49,
International Council for Bird Preservation.

Brown F. M. 1941 A gazetteer of entomological stations in Ecuador. Ann. Entom. Soc.
Am. 34: 809-851.

Chapman, F. M. 1926. The distribution of birdlife in Ecuador. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist.
55: 1-784.

Clarke, C. T. in press. Local bird movements in the Tumbesian region. In B. J. Best
(ed.), Biodiversity and Conservation in Tumbesian Ecuador and Peru. BirdLife
Monograph.

Collar, N. J. & Andrew, P. 1988. Birds to Watch: the ICBP World Check-list of
Threatened Species. Technical Publication no. 8, International Council for Bird
Preservation.

Collar, N. J., Gonzaga, L. P., Krabbe, N., Madrono Nieto, A., Naranjito, L. G., Parker,
T. A. & Wege, D. C. 1992. Threatened Birds of the Americas. ICBP and IUCN,
Cambridge, U.K.

Cracraft, J. 1985. Historical biogeography and patterns of differentiation within the
South American avifauna: areas of endemism. Pp. 49-84 in P. A. Buckley, M. S.
Foster, E. S. Morton, R. S. Ridgely and F. G. Buckley (eds), Neotropical
Ornithology. Orn. Monogr. no. 36, American Ornithologists’ Union.

Dodson, C. H. & Gentry, A. H. 1991. Biological extinction in western Ecuador. Ann.
Missouri. Bot. Gard. 78: 273-295.

Fjeldsa, J. & Krabbe, N. 1990. Birds of the High Andes. Zoological Museum, University
of Copenhagen and Apollo Books, Svenborg, Denmark.

Johnson, N. K. & Jones, R. E. 1990. Geographic differentiation and distribution of the
Peruvian Screech-Owl. Wilson Bull. 102: 199-212.

B. F. Best et al. 244 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)
Hilty, S. L. & Brown, W. L. 1986. A Guide to the Birds of Colombia. Princeton Univ.

Press.

ICBP. 1992. Putting Biodiversity on the Map: Priority Areas for Global Conservation.
ICBP, Cambridge, U.K.

Kessler, M. in press. The vegetation of the Tumbesian region. In B. J. Best (ed.),
Biodiversity and Conservation in Tumbesian Ecuador and Peru. BirdLife Monograph.

Koepcke, M. 1961. Birds of the western slope of the Andes. Am. Mus. Novit. 1028.

Krabbe, N. 1991. Avifauna of the Temperate Zone of the Ecuadorian Andes. Zoological
Museum, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Krabbe, N. 1992. Notes on distribution and natural history of some poorly known
Ecuadorian birds. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 112: 169-174.

Lanyon, W. E. & Lanyon, S. M. 1986. Genetic status of Euler’s Flycatcher: a
morphological and biochemical study. Auk 103: 341-350.

Marchant, S. 1958. The birds of the Santa Elena Peninsula, S.W. Ecuador. This 100:
349-387.

Meyer de Schauensee, R. 1970. A Guide to the Birds of South America. Livingston
Publishing Co.

Muller, P. 1973. The Dispersal Centres of Terrestrial Vertebrates in the Neotropical Realm.
Dr W. Junk, The Hague.

Munday, G. & Munday, M. 1992. The climate of south-west Ecuador. Pp. 7-78 in B. J.
Best (ed.), The Threatened Forests of South-West Ecuador. Biosphere Publications,
Leeds, U.K.

Norton, D. W., Orcés, V.G. & Sutter, E. 1972. Notes on rare and previously unreported
birds from Ecuador. Auk 89: 889-894.

Parker, T.A., Schulenberg, T. 5., Kessler, M. & Wust, W. 1989. Species limits, natural
history and conservation of some endemic birds in northwest Peru. Unpublished.

Parker, T. A., Schulenberg, T. S., Graves, G. R. & Braun, M. J. 1985. The avifauna of
the Huancabamba region, Northern Peru. Pp. 169-197 in P. A. Buckley, M. S.
Foster, E. S. Morton, R. S. Ridgely and F. G. Buckley (eds), Neotropical
Ornithology. Orn. Monogr. no.36, American Ornithologists’ Union.

Parker, T. A. & Carr, J. L. (eds) 1992. Status of Forest Remnants in the Cordillera de la
Costa and Adjacent Areas of Southwestern Ecuador. Conservation International,
Washington D.C. RAP Working Papers 2.

Paynter, R. A. 1972. Notes on the furnariid Automolus (Hylocryptus) erythrocephalus.
Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 92: 154-155.

Ridgely, R. S. & Robbins, M. B. 1988. Pyrrhura orcesi, a new parakeet from
southwestern Ecuador, with sysematic notes on the P. malanura complex. Wilson
Bull. 100: 173-182.

Ridgely, R. & Tudor, G. 1989. The Birds of South America. Vol. 1.: the oscine passerines.
Oxford Univ. Press.

Ridgely, R. S. & Greenfield, P. G. (in prep.). The Birds of Ecuador.

Robbins, M. B. & Ridgely, R. S. 1990. The avifauna of an upper tropical cloud forest in
southwestern Ecuador. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sct. Phil. 142: 59-71.

Schulenberg, T. S. & Parker, T. A. 1981. Status and distribution of some northwest
Peruvian birds. Condor 83: 209-216.

Stattersfield, A. J., Crosby, M. J., Long, A. J. & Wege, D. C. in prep. A Global Directory
of Endemic Bird Areas. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.

Wiedenfeld, D. A., Schulenberg, T. S. & Robbins, M. B. 1985. Birds of a tropical
deciduous forest in extreme northwestern Peru. Pp. 305-315 im P. A. Buckley, M. S.
Foster, E.S. Morton, R. S. Ridgely and F. G. Buckley (eds), Neotropical Ornithology.
Orn. Monogr. no. 36, American Ornithologists’ Union.

Williams, R. S. R. & Tobias, J. (eds) 1991. Cloudforest Birds in Southern Ecuador:
Ornithological and Botanical Observations of the Amaluza ’91 Project. University of
Wales College of Cardiff, Cardiff, U.K.

Williams, R. S. R. & Tobias, J. in prep. Bird Life Study Report.

Address: Brinley J. Best, 118 Aldwyn Crescent, Hazel Grove, Stockport, Cheshire SK7
EXC MUIR

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

B. }. Best et al. 245 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

APPENDIX A
Details of the 15 study-sites in southwestern Ecuador and northwestern Peru
For each site the following information is listed: (1) site number and name (see Figure 1
for map showing locations), (ii) central coordinates, (iii) altitudinal range over which
observations were made, (iv) dates of surveys, (v) habitat notes, (vi) area of investigation
(af the site comprised more than one distinct area).
*denotes sites which were ornithologically unknown prior to our surveys

1. Rio Rircay Valley*, Azuay Province, ECUADOR; 3°17’S, 79°15’W, 1000-1850 m:
415 observer days, 15, 22 & 24-25 Feb 1991. Mainly degraded and aridified agricultural
land, with some tiny patches of Semi-evergreeen Intermontane Cloud Forest and scrub
along water courses. Four localities investigated close to the main Machala-Cuenca road:
3°16'S, 79°14'W (1200-1450 m), 2 km E of Calderon; 3°20’S, 79°26’W (1000 m); 3°17'S,
79°21°W, 10km W of Sta Isabel town (1600 m); 3°20’S, 79°18’W (1750-1850 m),
Hacienda Quesada, 7 km S of Sta Isabel.

2. Uzhcurrumi*, El] Oro Province, ECUADOR; 3°21’S, 79°33’W, 320-1500 m: 6 ob-
server days, 15 & 22 Feb 1991. Mostly degraded agricultural land with very small patches
of Moist Lowland Forest. Two localities investigated: area up to 4 km E of Uzhcurrumi
village, on north and south side of rio Jubones at 3°20’S, 79°34’W (320-500 m); c. 15 km
SE of Uzhcurrumi along dirt road to Guanazan at 3°23’S, 79°32’W (1000-1500 m).

3. Ova, Azuay Province, ECUADOR; 3°25’S, 79°07'W, 1800-2330 m: 4 observer days,
13-14 Feb 1991. Mainly degraded and aridified agricultural land with some tiny patches of
Semi evergreen Intermontane Forest and scrub, mainly along water-courses. Two locali-
ties investigated: 3°24’S, 79°07’W (1800-1930 m), 10km N of Ona; 3°27'S, 79°07'W
(2330 m), 4km S of Ona.

4. Buenaventura, El Oro Province, ECUADOR; 3°40’S, 79°44'W, 900-1000 m: 38%
observer days, 24 Feb—4+ Mar 1991. Several patches of Very Humid Premontane Cloud
Forest with cattle-pastures, c. 9km W of Pinas town at Buenaventura, along road to
Machala. Surveyed in detail in recent years by ANSP (Robbins & Ridgely 1990).

5. Vicentino*, Loja Province, ECUADOR; 3°57’S, 79°57'W, 900-1450 m: 914 observer
days, 8 Feb, 14-18 Feb 1991. Patches of Humid Lower Montane Cloud Forest with cattle
pastures and crop-land to the E and SW of Vicentino village. The ridge and small section
of rio Tamine valley along mule-trail to E of Vicentino (to 3°56’S, 79°52’W) and small
forested ravines to SW of Vicentino, along dirt road to Alamor town (to 3°57'S, 80°00’W)
were surveyed.

6. Alamor, Loja Province, ECUADOR; 4°00'S, 80°00’W, 1200-1450 m: 51% observer
days, 13-14 & 18-19 Feb 1991. Patches of Humid Lower Montane Forest NE of Alamor
town, along dirt-road to Vicentino village as far as Quebrada Las Vegas at 3°59'S, 79°59'W.

7. Tierra Colorada*, Loja Province, ECUADOR; 4°02’S, 79°57'W, 1400-1850 m: 36
observer days, 9-19 Feb 1991. Humid Lower Montane Cloud Forest at a valley head,
surrounded by crop-land and cattle-pastures, c. 13km E of Alamor town. Area of
investigation included section from valley head along mule-trail to its meeting point with
main Alamor-Celica road 2 km S of Mercadillo.

8. Catacocha*, Loja Province, ECUADOR; 4°03’S, 79°40’W, 1400-1750 m: 4% ob-
server days, +5 & 7-8 Mar 1991. A patch of Semi-evergreen Lower Montane Cloud
Forest surrounded by crop-land and cattle-pastures c. 6 km NW of Catacocha town, just N
of the main road to Macara. Area of investigation included roadside vegetation between
Catacocha and forest patch.

9. Celica, Loja Province, ECUADOR; 4°07'S, 79°58’W, 1800-2100 m: 5 observer days,
6-8 Feb 1991, 14 & 20 Feb 1991. Humid Montane Cloud Forest patches and cattle-
pastures up to 5 km W of Celica town along road to Alamor.

10. El Empalme, Loja Province, ECUADOR; 4°07'S, 79°51’W, 800-900 m: 2 observer
days, 7 & 17 Feb 1991. Degraded Cezba trichistandra-dominated Deciduous Forest and
crop-land along rio Catamayo. Two localities investigated: area around the military
checkpoint at 4°07’S, 79°50’W and a ravine with some less degraded forest 6 km to the NW
at 4°06'S, 79°49'W.

11. El Ceibo-Sabanilla*, Loja Province, ECUADOR; 4°15’S, 80°08’W, 350-750 m: 1
observer day, 18 Feb 1991. Below 400 m: degraded acacia woodland; above 400 m: large,
but degraded tracts of Cezba trichistandra-dominated Deciduous Forest.

12. Sozoranga, Loja Province, ECUADOR; 4°21'S, 79°47'W, 1300-2615 m: 1989, 100
observer days, 8-20 Aug & 8-21 Sept 1991; 19 observer days, 30 Jan—1 Feb, 6 Feb, 5-6
Mar & 9-11 Mar. Patches of Semi-evergreen Lower Montane Cloud Forest (mainly
confined to ravines) and roadside crop-land, cattle-pastures and scrub to the NE, ENE and

B. F. Best et al. 246 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

NW of Sozoranga town along roads out from the town. Most important localities: Panacillo
(coordinates as Sozoranga) [1750-1800 m] c. 2km NE of Sozoranga town, along road to
Utuana; Quebrada Yaguana 4°19'S, 79°48’W (1550-1800 m), Quebrada Suquinda 4718'S,
79°49’W (1550-1800 m) and Quebrada Namballe 4°17'S, 79°49'W (1650-1850 m), 3, 4 and
6km NW of Sozoranga along dirt-road to Nueva Fatima; and Cerro Florida 4°18’S
79°47'W, 3 km ENE of Sozoranga, along dirt-road to El Empalme. Area of investigation
also included (but only for 5 observer days) ridge (1400-2000 m) and mountain peaks
‘Jatumpampa I and II’ (2580 m; 2615 m) 1-5 km ESE of Sozoranga, with patches of
Humid Montane Cloud Forest, scrub and cattle-pastures.
13. Utuana*, Loja Province, ECUADOR; 4°22’S, 79°43’W, 2500 m: 12 observer days
13-14 & 21-25 Sept 1989; 4 observer days 5—6 Feb 1991. Humid Montane Cloud Forest on
Loma Llambalanga 1—2 km SW of Utuana village, surrounded by agricultural land.
14. Tambo Negro*, Loja Province, ECUADOR; 4°24’S, 79°51'W, 600-1000 m: 70 ob-
server days, 24 Aug—7 Sept & 26-30 Sept 1989; 422 observer days, 16 Jan—7 Feb & 6-9
Mar 1991. The eastern fringe of an E—W ridge almost entirely covered by Ceiba
trichistandra-dominated Deciduous Forest extending to at least 1500 ha (the largest patch
of remaining forest with an intact understorey in western Loja and E] Oro Provinces). Area
of investigation centred on Quebrada Hueco Hondo and the adjacent ridge to the W, c.
5 km SW of Sabiango town.
15. Ayabaca*, Piura Department, PERU; 4°36’'S, 79°44'W, 2625 m: 7 observer days
22-26 Sept 1989. Cloud forest and cattle-pastures at Cerro Chacras, 2 km N of Ayabaca
town.

APPENDIX B
Bird species recorded on two surveys in the Tumbesian region of Ecuador and

Peru

This list of all species recorded on the two surveys of southwestern Ecuador (including
species found on the 1989 survey at Ayabaca in northwestern Peru) includes the following
information:
Restricted range species (RR): following the lists of Stattersfield et al. (in prep.) and
belonging to the following EBAs: A=S. Central Andean forests; C=Choc6/Pacific slope
Andes; and T=T'umbesian.
Altitudinal range (AR): the altudinal range over which each species was recorded during
our surveys is given to the nearest 25 metres. For those species which were only
encountered once, or where the limit of sightings=the limit of effort for species seeen many
times, the altitude of that record is given in parenthesis.
Species recorded: Each site where a species was recorded in indicated by means of a
number code corresponding to the sites listed in Appendix A. The sign ‘‘*”’ is attached to
records which refer to the 6—9 March 1991 visit to Tambo Negro.
Relative abundance: at five sites where at least six consecutive days were spent
(Buenaventura, Tierra Colorada, Sozoranga, Utuana [1989 visit] and Tambo Negro),
relative abundances are indicated by the following codes (all observers’ records combined:
C common, >10 individuals seen or heard daily; FC fairly common, <10 individuals
recorded daily, U uncommon, recorded on at least every other day; R rare, recorded once
or twice only. The letter L is used for sites where a species occurred principally in part of
the site (e.g. a river), which was only occasionally visited.
Breeding data: the following codes are attached to the site concerned: c - Copulation; d
Display; f Adult carrying food; i Adult investigating nest-hole; m Adult carrying nest
material; y Fledged young; fy Adult feeding young; na Nest with adult: nb Nest-building;
nf Nest found, contents not established; ny Nest with young.
Status (following species name):**threatened (Endangered, Vulnerable, Rare or Indeter-
minate) species (Collar et al. 1992), *near-threatened species (Collar et al. 1992).

Sequence and nomenclature follow Ridgely & Greenfield (in prep.).

RR AR Aug—Sept 1989 Jan—Mar 1991

Crypturellus transfasciatus* T 600-1000 14-FC 14-C
Nothoprocta sp. 1800-2500 12-R 12-R
Phalacrocorax brasilianus 600 14-L 14-L

Ardea cocot 600. — 14-L

B. F. Best et al. 247 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)
AR Aug—Sept 1989 = Jan—Mar 1991
Casmerodius albus 600 14-L 14-L
Butorides striatus 600 — 14-L
Tigrisoma fasciatum* (1500) — 7-R
Sarkidiornis melanotis 600-1000 — 14-L
Vultur gryphus (1850) — il
Sarcoramphus papa 450-2000 12-R, 14-R 11, 14-R
Coragyps atratus (325)-2500 12-C, 13-U, 2, 4-C, 5536,47-€,
14-C SLO W2-E,
14-C
Cathartes aura (325)—2500 12-C, 13-C, L244 EF Geiswi7eC?
14-C 8, 10,.12-FC,
13, 14-C
Leptodon cayanensis (1000) — 4-R
Chondrohierax uncinatus 900-1400 — 4-R, 7-R
Elanotdes forficatus (325)-1900 — 2, 4-FC, 6; 7-U, 9;
14-U
Accipiter ventralis 2400-(2625) 12-R, 13-U, 15 12-R, 13
A. bicolor (1800) 12-R —
Leucopternis princeps 900-1450 — 4-U, 7-U
L. occidentalis** (325)-1800 — 2, 4-FC, 5-d,m, 6,
7-FC-d, 9-d
Harpyhaliaetus solitarius (1800) 12-R —_—
Buteogallus urubitinga 600-1800 12-R 4-U-m, 6, 7-U,
14-U-m
B. meridionalis 600-1900 14-FC 4-R:6,'7-U, 9}
14-R-m, d
Geranoaetus melanoleucus 900-(2625) 12-R,13-R, 15 1, 4-R-m, 12-R, 13
Parabuteo unicinctus 800-2000 12-FC,14-FC 4-R, 5, 6, 7-R, 9,
10, 12-U, 14-
Buteo magnirostris (325)—(2625)13-R, 15 2, 4-U-d, 5, 7-R
B. leucorrhous 2500-(2625) 13-R, 15 —
B. polyosoma 600-2000 12-U, 13-U, 8, 12-R
14-R
B. albonotatus 600-(2625) 15 7-R, 14-R
Spizaetus tyrannus 900-1450 4-U, 7-U, 10,
12-R
S. ornatus 900-1000 — 4-R
Polyborus plancus 600-1500 14-FC 4-U, 6, 7-R, 12-R,
14-U
Herpetotheres cachinnans 600-800 14-FC 14-U
Micrastur ruficollis 900-1400 — 4-R, 7-R
Falco sparverius 600-2000 12-U, 14-U 4-R; 6, 7-R;.9
F. rufigularis 600 14-U 14-
Ortalis erythroptera* 750-1900 12-R, 14-R 4-U, 5, 6, 7-C-d,
8, 9, 12-FC,
14-
Penelope barbata** (2625) 15 —
P. purpurascens 1300-1500 5, 7-R
P. barbata/purpurascens (1500) — 2
Chamaepetes goudotit 900-1000 — 4-U-y
Odontophorus erythrops 900-1600 — 4-U, 7-U
Laterallus albigularis 900-1000 — 4-L
Aramides axillaris (1400) — 12-R
Charadrius vociferus 600 14-L —

continued

B. F. Best et al.

RR

Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

Jan—Mar 1991

Tringa melanoleuca/flavipes

Actitis macularia
Gallinago sp.
Columba fasciata

C. subvinacea
C. plumbea

Zenaida auriculata

Columbina buckley
C. cruziana

Claravis pretiosa
Leptotila ochraceiventris**
L. verreauxt

Geotrygon montana
G. frenata

Aratinga erythrogenys*

Pyrrhura orcesi**
Forpus coelestis

Brotogeris pyrrhopterus*

Pionopsitta pulchra
Pionus sordidus

P. chalcopterus

Coccyzus erythropthalmus
C. lansbergi

Piaya cayana

Crotophaga ani
C. sulcirostris
Tapera naevia

Tyto alba

Otus roboratus

O. albogularis

Otus sp.

Pulsatrix perspicillata
Glaucidium brasilianum
Glaucidium sp.

Ciccaba sp.

Asio sytgius

Nyctibius griseus
Nyctidromus albicollis
Camprimulgus longirostris
Chordeiles acutipennis
Streptoprocne zonaris

=

@Q2 Aaa

248
AR | Aug—Sept 1989

600 14-L

600-1200 14-L

600 —

900-(2625) 12-U, 13-U,

900-1600 —

900 —

800-(2625) 12-U, 13-R,
14-R, 15

(325)-1200 —

(325)-1700 12-C, 14-C

(650) 14R

650-(2625) 12-U, 14-U,

(325)-(2625) 12-U, 13-U,
14-C, 15

600-1600 12-R

900-(2625) 12-R, 15

(325)-2500 12-U, 13-U,
14-C

900-1300 —

600-1600 = 12-FC, 14-C

(325)-1550 12-R, 14-C-c

(900) a

(1500) —

(325)-1450 —

(325)-1300 —

(650) —_

600-1900 = 12-R, 14-R

900-1000 = —

600-1800 12-L, 14-L

(325)-1600 —

(1600) —

600-1800 —

2500 13-R

(900) —

(600) =

600-1700 = 14-FC

1500-1700 12-U

600-1450 —

(1400) —_

600 14-R

(325)-1700 12-L, 14-L

(1400) —

(600) 7

600-(2625) 12-R, 13-R,
14-R, 15

1, 2, 14-R

5, 6, 8, 14-FC-na

12-R

4-FC, 7-R, 14-R

12-L

14-R

2, 4-L, 7-L, 8,
12-L, 14-L

1

14-R

4-FC, 5, 6, 7-U,
13, 14-U

continued

B. }. Best et al.

Cypselotdes rutilus
Chaetura brachyura

C. cineretventris
Aeronautes montivagus
Phaethornis yaruqui

P. syrmatophorus

P. griseogularis/longuemareus
Phaethornis sp.
Eutoxeres aquila
Colibri thalassinus

C. coruscans
Thalaurania colombica
Amazilia amazilia

A. tzacail

Adelomyia melanogenys

Heliodoxa jacula

Patagona gigas

Lafresnaya lafresnayi

Coeligena wilsont

C. iris

Heliangelus strophianus*

H. viola

Ocreatus underwoodit

Lesbia nuna

Aglaiocercus coelestis

Heliothryx barroti

Heliomaster longirostris

Woodstar sp.

Myrtis fanny

Myrmia micrura

Pharomachrus auriceps

Trogon melanurus

T. personatus

T. collaris

Ceryle torquata

Chloroceryle americana

Electron platyrhynchum/
Baryphthengus martii

Momotus momota

Aulacorhynchus haematopygius

Pteroglossus erythropygius
Ramphastos swainsonii

Picumnus sclateri

Piculus rivolii
P. rubiginosus

Dryocopus lineatus
Veniliornis fumigatus

V. callonotus

RR

FrOFrQ

249

AR

900-(2625)
600
600-1300
900-1850
900-1000
1550-1800
1550-1800
900-1000
900-1000
1700-2615
1700-2615
900-1000
600-1800
900-1450

Bull, B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

Aug—Sept 1989

15
14-FC

12-U, 13-U
12-U, 13-U

12-FC, 14-FC

1400-(2625) 12-U, 13-FC,
15

900-1000
1800-2350
900-2500
900-1450

1550—-(2625) 12-R, 13-U, 15

900-1000

1900—-(2625) 13-U, 15

900-1800
2500
900-1500
900-1000
(325)-1400
900-1800
1550-1750
600-1450
900-(2625)
600-1800
900-2000
900-1800
600-1000
600-1300

900-1000
600-1800
900-2000

350-1000
900-1000
600-1800

(2500)
600-1800

650-900
900-(2625)

(325)-1800

12-R

12-R, 14-U
12-U

14-U
12-R, 15
12-U, 14-FC

12-R, 14-U

12-FC, 14-U

12-FC, 14-FC

14-U
12-R, 13-R, 15

12-FC, 14-FC

Jan—Mar 1991

—
Ww

ES
we
— oat
Ss
S

?

4
8
1
4
9
4
9
4
1
4
4
2h
1
1
6
4
1
4
4
4
4
4
8
4

continued

B. F. Best et al.

RR

Campephilus gayaquilensis

Dendrocincla fuliginosa
Sittasomus griseicapillus
Glyphorynchus spirurus
Xiphocolaptes promeropirhynchus
Xiphorhynchus erythropygius
Lepidocolaptes souleyeti

L. affinis
Campylorhamphus trochilirostris
C. pusillus

Furnarius leucopus

Synallaxis azarae

SS. brachyura
Si tathys**
Crantoleuca antisiensis

Margarornis squamiger
Pseudocolaptes johnson
P. boissoneautii

Syndactyla ruficollis**

Anabacerthia variegaticeps
Hylocryptus erythrocephalus**

Xenops rutilans
X. minutus
Taraba major

Sakesphorus bernardi
Thamnophilus zarumae

T. unicolor

Thamnistes anabatinus
Dysithamnus mentalis
Myrmotherula schisticolor
Myrmeciza immaculata
M. griseiceps**
Formicarius rufipectus
Grallaria guatimalensis

G. haplonota
G. ruficapilla

G. watkinsi
Melanopareia elegans

Scytalopus unicolor
Scytalopus sp.

250 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)
AR Aug—Sept 1989 Jan—Mar 1991

600-1450 14-U 5, 6, 7-R, 14-R

900-1450 — 4-U, 6, 7-R

600-1800 12-FC,14-U 12-R, 14-FC

900-1000 = — 4-FC

650-2500 13-U, 14-U 5, 6, 12-R, 14-R-d

900-1000 — 4-U

(325)-1800 12-FC, 14-FC 2, 4-U, 12-U,
14-FC

1400-(2625) 13-FC, 15 7-FC, 9

650-1700 12-R, 14-R 8

(1600) 12-R —_—

(325)-1700 12-FC, 14-FC 2, 4-U, 5, 7-R, 8-f,
nf, 12-FC,
14-FC

900-(2625) 12-U, 13-U, 15 1, 4-FC-nf, 5, 6,
7-C, 9, 12-FC,
13

900-1000 — 4-U

600-1000 14-U 14-FC

900-(2625) 12-FC,13-C, 2,4-FC, 5, 7-C, 9,

15 12-FC, 13

1400-(2625) 15 7-R

900-1000 — 4-U-y

2500 13-U 13

600-(2625) 12-R, 13-FC, 7-U, 8, 9, 12-FC,

14-U, 15 13, 14-U

900-1450 — 4-U, 5

600-1800 12-U 8, 10, 12-FC-i,m,
14-FC

650-1800 12-R, 14-R 4-U, 7-U

900-1000 = — 4-R

(325)-1700 12-R 2d

600-1800 12-FC, 14-FC_ 8, 10, 12-U,
14-FC-nb

600-(2625) 12-U,13-FC, 5, 7-U, 8, 9, 10,

14-R, 15 12-U, 13

900-1800 = — 4-U, 7-U

900-1000 — 4-U

600-1400 14-R 4-U, 7-U

900-1500 = — 4-U, 5, 7-U

900-1800 3 — 4-R, 7-R

1000-(2625) 15 5, 13, 14-R

900-1600 — 4-FC, 7-R

900-2500 — 4-FC, 6, 7-FC, 8,
9, 12-FC, 13

900-1000 = — 4-U

1600-(2625) 13-R, 15 1, 7-FC, 8, 9,
12-FC, 13

600-2000 12-FC, 14-FC 5, 6, 7-U, 8, 10,
12-FC, 14-FC

600-1800 12-FC, 14-R 4-R, 8, 12-FC,
14-R

2000-(2625) 13-R, 15 9, 13

900-1000 — 4-R

continued

B. #. Best et al.

Phyllomyias uropygiallts
Zimmerius chrysops

Camptostoma obsoletum

Mytopagis subplacens

Elaentia albiceps

Elaenia sp.

Mecocerculus poecilocercus
/stictopterus

M. calopterus

Serpophaga cinerea

Anairetes parulus

A. nigrocristatus

Euscarthmus meloryphus

Mionectes striaticollis

M. striaticollis/M. olivaceus
M. oleagineus
Phylloscartes sp.
Lophotriccus pileatus
Poecilotriccus ruficeps
Todirostrum cinereum
Tolmomyias sulphurescens
Platyrinchus mystaceus
Myiotriccus ornatus
Myrobius sp.

Mytophobus flavicans

M. fasciatus

Contopus cinereus
C. fumigatus

Lathrotriccus griseipectus**
Sayornis nigricans
Pyrocephalus rubinus
Ochthoeca rufipectoralis

O. jelski

Myiotheretes striaticollis
Muscigralla brevicauda
Attila torridus**
Myiarchus tuberculifer

M. phaeocephalus
Megarhynchus pitangua

Myiozetetes cayanensis

M. similis

RR

251 Bull.

AR Aug—Sept 1989
(1600) 12-R
900-2500 = 12-FC, 13-FC
(325)-2500 14-FC
600-1750 12-FC, 14-FC
2000-2500 —

(900) —_
1500-(2625) 15
650-1550 12-R, 14-R
1000 a

2500 13-R

2500 13-R
600-1800 12-U, 14-U
900-1700 12-U
900-1700 12-U
(1700) 12-R
900-1400 —
900-1600 = —

(2500) 13-R
900-2000 = —
600-1800 12-FC, 14-FC
900-1000 = —
900-1000 —
900-1200 —
1200-1400 —
600-1700 14-R
600-1700 14-FC
900-(2625) 12-FC, 15
650-1700 —
(325)-1900 12-FC, 14-L
600-1800 12-L, 14-L
(2500) 13-R
2500—-(2625) 12, 15
1400-2500 12-U, 13-U
800-1500 —
900-1700 = —
900-(2625) 12-FC, 15
600-1000 14-FC
(325)-1900 12-U, 14-FC
(1500) —
600-2500 12-U, 14-U

B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

Jan—Mar 1991

qe eas
a

0
a
v2)

E)

DO,
-U, 14-FC-nb

PARP ROH

mw OD

-FC,fy-nb, 8,

aes
ne
=
-
Ls]
QD

ite [o,e}
1 ice) e
So
N
es]
Q
=)
<7

FP NrR
ow

continued

B. F. Best et al.

Myiodynastes maculatus

M. bairdii

M. chrysocephalus
Legatus leucophaius
Tyrannus melancholicus

T. niveigularis
Pachyramphus albogriseus
P. homochrous

Tityra inquisitor
Ampelion rubrocristatus
Ampelioides tschudi*
Cephalopterus penduliger*
Masius chrysopterus
Machaeropterus deliciosus
Progne chalybea

Notiochelidon cyanoleuca

Stelgidopteryx ruficollis
Hirundo rufocollaris
Cyanocorax mystacalis

Campylorhynchus fasciatus

Thyrothorus mystacalis
T. sclatert

T. nigricapillus
Troglodytes aedon

T. solstitialis
Henicorhina leucophrys
Cyphorhinus phaeocephalus
Cinclus leucephalus
Polioptila plumbea
Myadestes ralloides
Catharus fuscater

C. dryas

C. ustulatus
Platycichla leucops
Turdus chiguanco

T. fuscater

. serranus
. nigriceps
. reevel

SSS) S)

. obsoletus

252 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

AR — Aug-—Sept 1989

(325)-1900 14-R

600-1700 14-U
(1500) a
1200-1400 —
(325)-1900 12-R, 14-R

(350) can
600-2500 14-U
(325)-1000 14-U
900-1000 = —
1900-(2625) 13-U, 15
900-1500, —

(900) =
900-1300 = —
900-1000 = —
(325)-2500 —

(325)-2500 13-FC

(325)-900 14-R
600-2000 12-R
600-1800 12-FC, 14-FC

(325)-(2625) 12-C, 14-FC,
15

900-1400 —

600-1600 12-U, 14-R

900-1000 —

(325)-(2625) 12-FC, 13-FC,
14-FC, 15

(1700) bas
900-1900 —
900-1000 —
1000 ual
600-1000 14-FC
900-(2625) 15
1450-(2625) 15
(1700) ee
900-1900 —
900-1900 —
1500-1800 —
1200-(2625) 12-R, 13-FC,
15

1450-(2625) 13-R, 15

1500-1800 —

600-(2625) 12-FC, 14-FC,
15

(900) 1

Jan—Mar 1991

2, 14-FC-nb

2, 4-FC

9-nb, 12-L-nb

5, 12-FC-m,
14-FC

2, 4-R, 5, 6, 7-FC,
8, 12-C-nb,
14-C-nb

4-R, 5

12-U, 14-U

4-U

1, 2, 4-FC, 8, 9,

12-FC,

14-FC-m

oy Oy PaNC, Y)

el Nels

'
Ke)

elke
Sum
Sor
qeS
»
a

ee teste ell Fe OO. ete

=
S Q

oo
ee)

oe
3

girs =
ice
=)
p

continued

B. F. Best et al.

T. macultrostris

Mimus longicaudatus
Cyclarhis gujanensis

Vireo olivaceus
V. leucophrys

Aylophilus decurtatus
Parula pitiayumi

Dendroica fusca
Geothlypis semiflava
G. aequinoctialis
Myioborus miniatus

Basileuterus nigrocristatus
B. trifasciatus

B. fraseri

Coereba flaveola
Euphonia cyanocephala
E. xanthogaster

E. lanitrostris

Conirostrum sitticolor
Diglossa cyanea

D. humeralis

D. albilatera

D. sittotdes

Cyanerpes sp.
Chlorophanes spiza
Pipraeidea melanonota

Tangara rufigula
T. arthus

T. icterocephala
T. parzudaki

. cyanicollis

. rufivertex

. gyrola

. nigroviridis

ih lhesines

T. vassorii

T. viridicollis
Anisognathus flavinucha
A. notabilis

253 Bull.

RR AR Aug-Sept 1989

T (325)}-1900 12-FC

600-1500 = 14-L
(325)-(2625) 12-FC, 13-FC,
14-FC, 15

(325)-1900 14-FC

600-(2625) 12-FC, 13-FC,
15

900-1400 —

(325)-1800 12-FC, 14-FC

900-1800 —

900 =

900-1500 —

900-(2625) 12-FC, 13-FC,
15

1900-(2625) 13-U, 15
T 900-(2625) 12-FC, 13-FC,
15
T (325)-1800 12-FC, 14-FC

900-1800 —
900-(2625) 12-R, 15
900-1800 —

(325)—-(2625) 12-FC, 14-FC,
15

15
15

2500—-(2625) 13-R,
Cc
lS
We
U

13-
2500-(2625) 13-
2500—-(2625) 13-
2500-(2625) 13-
1500-1800 12
(900) =
900 —
900-1800 —

15

900-1000 —
900-1900 = —

900-1300; —
900 =
(900) —=
900-1850 —
900-1400 —
900-1900 =—

1850-(2625) 13-FC, 15
1200—(2625) 12-U, 13-U, 15
1200-1900 —

C 900-1000 —

B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

Jan—Mar 1991

ee te teal |

Ao ae GS
cle

wee Beth

aD

~

fe]

oO

apzace
Oo

fy,y, 6, 7-R

’

PRPALE FF

sy
ele!

, 6
7-FC-m,nb,
U

v3
y*,
©
xo
S
e

RAD
Gux
G
8
\o

continued

B. fF. Best et al.

Tersina viridis
Thraupts episcopus

T. palmarum
T. cyanocephala
Ramphocelus flammigerus

Piranga flava

P. rubra

P. leucoptera
Chlorothraupis stolzmanni
Thylpopsis ornata
Chlorospingus ophthalmicus
C. canigularis

C. flavigularis

C. semifuscus

Hemispingus melanotis
Conothraupis speculigera

Catamblyrhynchus diadema
Saltator maximus

S. atripennis
S. nigriceps
S. albicollis

Pitylus grossus
Pheucticus chrysogaster

Volatinia jacarina
Sporophila americana

S. luctuosa

S. nigricollis

SS. peruviana

S. simplex
Oryzoborus angolensis
Catamenia analis
Sicalis flaveola

Phrygilus plebejus
P. alaudinus
Atlapetes rufinucha
. tricolor

. leucopterus

. seebohmi
. albiceps

. torquatus

Daw WA

RR

44

254 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

AR Aug—Sept 1989

(1000) =
(325)-1900 12-FC, 14-FC

(325)-1600 —
1700-(2625) 12-FC, 15
(325)-1900 —

600-(2625) 12-FC, 14-FC,
15

1450-1900 —
900-1600 —
900-1000 = —
1900-(2625) 13-U, 15
900-1450) —
900-1200 = —
900-1000 —
900 —
2500
(325)-1800 —

1700-2500
(325)-1800 —

900-1600 = —
1600-2500 12-U, 13-U
600-1400 14-FC

900 =
(325)-(2625)12-FC, 14-U,
15

(325)-1800 12-FC

(325)-1400 14-U
600-1200 —

900 —
1000-1500 —

(1500) =

(900) =
1800—2350 —
600-1800 12-L, 14-L

800-1800 12-FC
(1000) ae
1300-(2625) 15
900-1000 —
1200-1800 12-FC

1500-2500 12-FC

800-1000 —

900-(2625) 12-FC, 13-U,
15

Jan—Mar 1991

ae
CSIRO esd SIS SCS
ER @ aes Q
Soe &
ve) y 6

QO fo

3

ap

FEE ROHHEN
elele\s) le
wn

10, 12-FC,
14-FC

1, 2, 4-L, 5; 12-L,
14

14-FC
10, 14-U

4-U, 5, 6, 7-FC, 8,
9, 12-U, 13

continued

R. W. Dickerman 255 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

RR AR Aug-Sept 1989 Jan—Mar 1991

Arremon aurantitrostris 900-1000 — 4-U

A. abeillei 600-1800 12-FC, 14-FC_ 8, 12-U, 14-FC

Arremonops conirostris 900-1250 — 4-U, 5

Aimophila stolzmanni T 800 —_ 10

Zonotrichia capensis (325)—(2625)12-L, 13-L, 15 1, 2, 3, 4-L,
7ele=nb, 8, 9!
123138

Molothrus bonariensis 600-1600 14-L L718 210)
12-L, 14-L-nf

Psarocolius angustifrons (2600) 12-R —

Cacicus cela 650 14-U 14-U

C. microrhynchus (325)-900 — 2, 4-U-nf

Amblycercus holosericeus (1700) 12-R —-

Dives warszewicz1 600-1800 12-L, 14-L AES, Ae 8 98
10, 12-L, 14-L

Icterus graceannae T 600-1700 12-FC,14-FC 14-U

I. mesomelas 600-1750 12-U 2, 4-R, 5, 7-U,
12-U

Sturnella bellicosa (325)-1025 14-L 1932142

Carduelis magellanica 900-(2625) 12-L, 15 1, 4-L, 6, 7-L, 8,
Oe 12-10

C. xanthogastra 900 — 4-R

On the validity of Ceyx (Mytoceyx) lecontet
ruficeps

by Robert W. Dickerman
Received 3 November 1992

Peters (1945) recognized two subspecies of the tiny forest-dwelling,
insect-eating Red-headed Dwarf Kingfisher Ceyx (Ispidina_ or
Myioceyx) lecontei: nominate lecontei (type locality Moonda
(=Mondah) River, Gaboon), and ugandae (type locality Budongo,
Uganda). More recent authors (Mackworth-Praed & Grant 1970,
Colston & Curry-Lindahl 1986, Fry et al. 1988, 1992) have not
recognized geographic variation within the species. In attempting to
identify a series of recently taken specimens from Liberia, it was
necessary to reevaluate the available names for the species. These also
include /spidina ruficeps Hartlaub (type locality Akuapim, Ghana).

First it must be noted that the species is not well represented from
West Africa in the ornithological collections of the world. Sharpe
(1892) had but a single specimen (from Ghana), and the species was not
reported from Liberia until 1986 when Colston & Curry-Lindahl
reported on two specimens. Teams from the American Museum of
Natural History have subsequently collected 14 specimens in Liberia (7
skins, 5 skeletons and 2 in liquid). ‘The species is apparently locally
common along small watercourses in undisturbed forested areas.

R. W. Dickerman 256 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

TABLE 1
Wing chord measurements of Ceyx lecontet populations east (leconter) and west (ruficeps)
of the Dahomey gap

n range mean s.d.
C. 1. lecontei 53 (44) 45.5-50.5 47.8 13}
C. Ll. ruficeps 8 44.0—-46.0 45.4 0.7

Next, in view of the paucity of specimens it is not surprising that

black-headed lecontez 1856 (based on the immature plumage) and
red-headed ruficeps 1904 (based on the adult plumage) were recognized
by Sharpe as distinct species. Thus when Bates (1911) reported on a
series from Cameroon which included different age classes, ruficeps was
relegated to the synonymy of first described /econte:. Latter ugandae
was described as having “‘. .. more decided blue spots on the head than
Gaboon and Fantee [Ghana] specimens’’.

Now with the recently taken series from Liberia and much larger
series from throughout the species range (see specimens examined) it is
possible to reevaluate the names available. ‘Two populations are
recognizable with classical distributions, one west and one east of the
famous forest gap in Dahomey. Wing chord measurements were taken
with dividers and were rounded to the nearest half millimetre. There is
no sexual dimorphism in size, and so wing chord measurement data
were combined. Nineteen males from Uganda had wings measuring
44-49 mm (mean 47.3, standard deviation 1.3), while eight females
measured 46-50 (mean 48.4, standard deviation 1.5).

Ceyx (I am using this generic name following Fry et al. 1988, but
without opinion on its use over Myzoceyx) lecontei leconte: (with
ugandae as a synonym) occurs east of the Dahomey gap. Its outstanding
character is the presence of purplish-blue iridescent spots on the tips of
the feathers of the crown (83% of 48 specimens), including three
females from Gabon. In series the crown, venter and moustachial
regions are slightly paler than in the very fresh Liberian series.

Ceyx lecontet ruficeps occurs west of the Dahomey gap; it lacks
iridescent spots on the crown, and it is significantly smaller (see Table
iby

Specimens measured: C. 1. lecontei (53). Cameroon 4 M, 1 F; Gabon
3 F; Central African Republic 4M, 1 F; Zaire 4M, 4 F; Angola 1 F;
Uganda 19M, 8 F; Sudan 1M, 2F. C. 1. ruficeps (8): Liberia 4 M,
4F,

Acknowledgements

I thank the curators of the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, and the Los
Angeles County Museum of Natural History for the loan of specimens 1n their. care.
Alexander Peal, Head of National Parks and Wildlife in Liberia, was most supportive of
our field work in Liberia. W. Parker Cane, Michael F. Carter, Angela Chapman, and C.
Gregory Schmitt were fundamental to the success of the field programs. The wing chord

R. H.C. Bonser & C. A. Walker 257 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

of the single adult male reported by Colston & Curry-Lindahl (1986) was used in the
statistics.

References:

Bates, G. L. 1911. Further notes on the birds of Southern Cameroon. Part 1. Ibis (9) 5:
476-545.

Colston, P. & Curry-Lindahl, K. 1986. The Birds of Mount Nimba, Liberia. Brit. Mus.
(Nat. Hist.)

Fry, C. H., Fry, K. & Harris, A. 1992. Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers. A. & C. Black,
London, and Princeton Univ. Press.

Fry, C. H., Keith, S. & Urban, E. K. 1988. The Birds of Africa. Vol. 3. Academic Press.

Mackworth-Praed, C. W. & Grant, C. H. B. 1970. Birds of West Central and Western
Africa. Vol. 1. Longman.

Peters, J. L. 1945. Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 5. Museum of Comparative
Zoology, Harvard.

Sharpe, R. B. 1892. Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum Vol. 15. London.

Address: Robert W. Dickerman, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park
West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024, U.S.A.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

Some notes on type material of moas

(Aves: Dinornithidae)

by Richard H. C. Bonser & Cyril A. Walker
Received 12 November 1992

During a comprehensive recuration of the collection of Moa material
in the Natural History Museum, South Kensington, certain discoveries
were made concerning ‘type’ specimens. We here present a report of
these findings.

Although the biological interest of these specimens, with their lack
of collection data, is probably small, they do represent an important
record of the sometimes confused history of moa systematics. They
also illustrate some of the problems that can be associated with the
type-based classificatory system. Recently some effort has been made
to perform numerical analysis of morphometric data of the moa
hindlimb. Cracraft’s (1976) attempt is perhaps the most notable. ~
Worthy (1988) has produced a key to the identification of hind-
limb elements, which will undoubtedly prove a great aid to the
curation of moa material. Anderson (1990) has published an extensive
review of the ecology, morphology and history of moas which
hopefully may excite increased interest in this fascinating group of
extinct birds.

Dinornis maximus Owen

Lydekker’s (1891) catalogue of fossil birds states that the collec-
tion contained casts of the syntypes of Dinornis maximus. Owen
(1869) described the new species of moa on the basis of a syntypical

R. H.C. Bonser & C. A. Walker 258 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

series of the right tarsometatarsus, the left tibiotarsus, and the left
femur. He stated that in March 1867 he was “favoured by Major J.

Michael, of the Madras Staff Corps, with the opportunity of |
inspecting the femur, tibia and metatarse”’. The bones in the |
possession of Major Michael are described and figured by Owen |
(1869, 1879). The type locality is given as Glenmark Estate, 45 miles |

from Christchurch.

During the recuration it became evident that both the casts (BMNH
no. A161) and the syntypical series of hindlimb elements were present
in the collection. It is a matter of speculation as to the history of the
bones over the last 130 years. Archey (1941) and Brodkorb (1955) both
stated that the last known possessor of the types was Major Michael. It
may simply be the case that they only made reference to Lydekker
(1891) in reaching this conclusion. It is possible that the Museum
purchased the collection some time after Owen’s (1869) description,
and due to the presence of the casts in the collection, the curator at that
time saw no need to register the bones separately. Lydekker may simply
have overlooked the bones.

Pachyornis (Dinornis) elephantopus (Owen)

In 1856 Owen described a new species of moa based upon hindlimb
elements from an assemblage of bones collected by Walter Mantell.
The type locality was referred to as being a “‘vast rocky head” near
Ruamoa (‘““Awamoa”’ in Archey 1941). The locality was said to be
three miles south of Oamaru Point. within two years the collection
of material had been purchased by the British Museum (Natural
History) and Owen (1858a) published a complete description of the
limb, in which it was figured. A mounted skeleton was then presumed
to have been constructed which included the hind limb that Owen
(1858a) had described. Owen (1858b) produced a description of the
entire skeleton of Dinornis elephantopus. ‘This skeleton was subse-
quently put on public display (BM(NH) no. A3620, ex. no.** [szc] in
Lydekker 1891). Owen (1858b, 1879), Lydekker (1891), Lambrecht
(1933) and Archey (1941) all referred to this mounted skeleton as being
the ‘type’.

Archey (1941) recognised the necessity to nominate a lectotype from
the syntypical series of Pachyornis elephantopus (Owen). He chose the
left tarsometatarsus of the mounted skeleton, which he assumed, for
good reason, to be the same bone as that figured in Owen’s (1858a)
descriptions, and subsequently incorporated in the composite skeleton
(see Lydekker 1891).

Whilst recurating the collection, the authors discovered that the left
leg of the mounted skeleton did not correspond in detail to the elements
figured by Owen (1858a). Briefly, the femur is less damaged in the
region of the trochanteric ridge, and the tibiotarsus has neither the
muscle scars nor the damage figured in the description. The
tarsometatarsus differs in the configuration of the proximal foramen,
lacks the two small foramina situated on the anterior surface of the
shaft, and the articular surface of the third condyle is damaged. The

R. H.C. Bonser & C. A. Walker 259 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

authors feel that these differences are too great to be regarded as artistic
licence, and hence conclude that the left hindlimb of the mounted
skeleton is not that figured by Owen (1858a).

A search was made of the collection to determine whether the
missing hindlimb was present: it was not found. Various scenarios
could be proposed to explain its fate. It may not have been incorporated
in the mount, but instead was retained by Mantell, to languish
unrecognised, in another collection. Much of Mantell’s material was
given to the collection of the Royal College of Surgeons. Much of the
material in this collection was destroyed by bombing during the Second
World War. The material that survived was donated to the Natural
History Museum.

If, as seems increasingly likely, Archey’s (1941) lectotype is lost we
are left with a nomenclatorial problem, as another specimen will have to
be chosen from the syntypical series. The authors feel reasonably
certain that the hindlimb of the mounted skeleton was part of the
original collection, and can therefore be regarded as being part of the
syntypical series. We have at present refrained from nominating a
neotype, in the hope that searches by other curators may uncover the
lost lectotype.

Acknowledgement

Richard Bonser wishes to thank the Trustees of the Natural History Museum for the
Vacation Studentship that enabled him to carry out this work.

References:

Anderson, A. 1990. Prodigious Birds: Moas and Moa-hunting in Prehistoric New Zealand.
Cambridge Univ. Press.

Archey, G. 1941. The moa. A study of the Dinornithiformes. Bull. Auckland Inst. and
Mus. 1: 35-38, pl. 14 fig. 2a.

Brodkorb, P. 1963. Catalogue of fossil birds. Bull. Florida State Mus., Biol. Sci. 7(4):
210-211.

Lambrecht, K. 1933. Handbuch der Palaeornithologie. Berlin.

Lydekker, R. 1891. Catalogue of Fossil Birds. London.

Owen, R. 1958a. On Dinornis (Part VII): containing a description of the bones of the leg
and foot of Dinornis elephantopus, Owen. Trans. Zool. Soc. London 4(11): 149-157,
pls. 43-4.

Owen, R. 1958b. On Dinornis (Part VIII): containing a description of the skeleton of
the Dinornis elephantopus, Owen. Trans. Zool. Soc. London 4(12): 159-164, pls. 46-7
fig. 1.

Owen, R. 1869. On Dinornis (Part XII): containing a description of the femur, tibia, and
metatarsus of Dinornis maximus Owen. Trans. Zool. Soc. London 6: 498-500,
pls. 89-90.

Owen, R. 1879. Extinct Birds of New Zealand. John van Voorst, London.

Worthy, T. H. 1988. An illustrated key to the main leg bones of moas (Aves:
Dinornithiformes). National Museum of New Zealand Miscellaneous Series 17.

Addresses: R.H.C. Bonser, Department of Zoology, University of Bristol, Woodland
Road, Bristol BS81UG, U.K. C.A. Walker, Department of Palaeontology,
Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London SW7 5BD,
U.K.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

D.C. Houston, A. Hall & H. Frey 260 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

The characteristics of the cosmetic soils used
by Bearded Vultures Gypaetus barbatus

by David C. Houston, Allan Hall & Hans Frey
Received 3 December 1993

Bearded Vultures have a strikingly rufous colour to their head, neck
and underparts, the intensity of which varies between individuals and
localities. At one time these colour variations were used to establish
new species (G. albicans Fatio, 1899) or subspecies (Fischer 1963).
However, Berthold (1967) and Brown (1988) have shown that this
colouration is caused entirely by the birds collecting iron-rich particles
onto their feathers. The Bearded Vulture is the only bird species which
is known to use cosmetic colouration from soils to such a spectacular
effect. Clancey (1968), however, found it “almost impossible to accept”
that such intense colouration was caused by iron staining, partly
because no observations had ever been made of Bearded Vultures
wallowing in red soils. His skepticism is understandable, for Brown
(1988, 1990) during hundreds of hours of observations of Bearded
Vultures during a three-year study in southern Africa never saw the
birds using soil to stain the plumage. He considered that the birds may
accumulate the colour incidentally, perhaps from filmy accumulations
of iron oxide on rock ledges.

As a part of the programme to reintroduce the Bearded Vulture to
the European Alps, a captive breeding programme has been established
in Vienna and elsewhere, using birds from zoological gardens
throughout Europe. Birds in captivity, if not given access to red soils,
will develop pure white plumage. The captive birds have to be
provided with red soils to develop their natural colouration. Captive
birds only become excited when presented with certain intensely
red-coloured soils, which are damp, but not liquid mud. They
enthusiastically rub the belly and head feathers in the damp soil, and
within an hour accumulate the characteristic deep, rufous colouration
of wild birds. Once the feathers are stained in this way the colour
cannot be washed out of the feathers by washing in water, although
some soil is removed and the colour becomes fainter. The present paper
considers the geological characteristics of the red soils which Bearded
Vultures use for staining their feathers. We consider whether the
distribution of suitable iron-rich soils may be limiting to the birds, or
restricted in their locations, which might explain why birds have not
been seen colouring their feathers in the wild.

Methods

Samples of soils were collected from a dolomitic limestone quarry
beside the village of Groben, near Salzburg. They were subjected to
X-ray diffraction analysis. The soils were first examined under a
binocular microscope and the larger fragments were removed by hand,
washed and mechanically ground in acetone to provide a glass-mounted

D.C. Houston, A. Hall & H. Frey 261 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

smear for X-ray diffraction using Fe-filtered Co Ka radiation at
scanning speed 2° 20/minute and range 4 to 64° 20. The remaining
material was smear mounted for analysis. Finally the clay particles from
the soil were obtained using a sedimentation method and allowing
one-hour settling time before recovering by centrifugation, the fraction
containing particles of less than 10 micron. The clay X-ray diffraction
profile was obtained using 1° 20/minute and range 4 to 16° 20 for a
sample presented untreated, glycolated, heated for 1 hour at 300°C and
1. hour at 600°C. The clay material was subjected to X-ray
micro-analysis on a Cambridge Instruments scanning electron
microscope for identification of major elements of the atomic number
of sodium or above.

Results

The coarse soil particles were mainly dolomite and calcite, as were the
main soil particles, excluding the coarsest grains. The finest clay
particles were made up mainly of 14 A clay (chlorite) and 10-12A clay
(mixed-layer illite/smectite) with possibly some 7A clay (kaolin). ‘The
chemical analysis of the fine clay particles gave Silicon 17 %,
Aluminium 11.5%, Iron 10.5%, Calcium 8%, Potassium 2.5%,
Magnesium 1.5%, Sodium 1%, Phosphorus 1% and Titanium 0.5%.
The glycolation and heating at 300°C provided clear evidence of an
expanding component in the 10-12 A clay, hence this is interpreted as a
mixed-layer illite/smectite clay. There was only a trace of goethite and
possibly a trace of hematite in the clay fraction.

Discussion

The soils used by the birds were gravels derived from weathered
dolomitic limestone, a rock which is not uncommon in the Alps region.
The quarry near Groben has rocks of a rich orange-red colour, and
these coloured dolomites occur in several other localities in the Alps,
but sometimes only in very restricted areas. The soil is mud which is
washed out of weathered rock fissures by rain, and there are only a few
sites in the Alps where these iron-rich muds are known to occur, and
they are the only red soils known in the region. It is thus very likely
that suitable cosmetic sites are very restricted for Bearded Vultures.
The mineral dolomite usually contains iron in its structure and has a
general formula Ca(Mg,Fe)(CO;3),. The iron oxidises readily on
weathering to produce brown ferric oxides/hydroxides. The red colour
of the soil is due to these iron compounds. Hematite (Fe,O,) and
goethite FeO(OH) were both detected in trace amounts, but these
minerals are often poorly crystallised and in partially hydrated states, so
that their X-ray diffraction pattern is poorly developed, and they were
probably more abundant than the results suggest; this is likely because
of the high iron content from the chemical analysis. The main clay is a
clay chlorite, but the illite/smectite which is also present would create a
fine, absorbent material that has good adhesive properties for binding
onto the feathers. Brown (1988) carried out electron microscope studies

D.C. Houston, A. Hall & H. Frey 262 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

of the feathers which showed that the soils often formed large ‘blobs’ on
the ends of the barbs, and some barbules were so thickly coated that
they were bonded together in clumps. He found that the soil was
particularly accumulated at the ends of the barbules were the keratin
had become frayed. A clay component to the soil, as well as a high iron
content, therefore seems necessary. Hence the soil material seems to be
ideal as a cosmetic. It combines a high iron content, providing a rich
red colour, with a fine clay to give excellent bonding properties onto the
feather, so that the feather retains much of the colour even after rain or
bathing.

Brown (1988) noted that in the wild the colour of birds was
correlated with recent weather; after periods of heavy rain the birds
were noticeably lighter, and after dry periods were darker in colour.
This colour change may be caused by leaching, as Brown (1988)
suggests, but could also be caused by changes in the frequency with
which birds visit sites with cosmetic soils, because captive birds have
been observed mainly to use the damp soils during dry weather.

Despite detailed and close observations of the twenty released
Bearded Vultures in the Alps over seven years, no bird has ever been
seen using these red soils in the wild. The birds are provided with soil
from the Groben quarry at their release sites. But it is known that some
birds have found natural sources of mud—it is not known where—from
which they have returned with their feathers thickly coated. Captive
birds are extremely wary when using the soil, and will stop immediately
there is any disturbance. From the lack of field observations anywhere
in the world it is likely that birds in the wild are also very secretive
about their visits to mud wallows.

Bearded Vultures are widely distributed over a great range of
mountains of different geological origins. The populations in the
Himalayas, Pyrenees and the Alps are all in limestone regions, where
the soil type described here could develop wherever dolomitic
limestone is eroding and weathering. The populations in Africa, which
belong to a separate subspecies G. b. meridionalis, occupy the mountain
areas of Ethiopia, East Africa and Lesotho and southern Africa. These
mountains are composed of much older, metamorphic rocks. The
characteristics of the soils used by birds in these areas must be different
from the soil type described here, but African soils are characterised by
high iron oxide contents, and sources of suitable cosmetic soils may be
far more abundant. Brown (1988) carried out X-ray diffraction analysis
of feathers and soil washed from feathers taken from birds in Lesotho.
The material was found to be poorly crystalline, amorphous to X-rays,
and probably a hydrous oxide of iron.

References:

Berthold, P. 1967. Uber Haftfarben bei Végeln: Rostfarbung durch Eisenoxid beim
Bartgeier (Gypaetus barbatus) und bei anderen Arten. Zool. Fb. Syst. 93: 507-595.

Brown, C. J. 1988. A study of the bearded vulture Gypaetus barbatus in southern Africa.
Ph.D. thesis, University of Witwatersrand.

Brown, C. J. 1990. Breeding biology of the Bearded Vulture in southern Africa. Ostrich
61: 2449.

Clancey, P. A. 1968. The ventral colouring of the Lammergeier. Bokmakierie 20: 36-37.

In Brief 263 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

Fatio, V. 1899. Faune des Vertébrés de la Suisse. Vol. 2. Genf und Basel.
Fischer, W. 1963. Die Geier. Neue Brehm-Bucherei, Wittenberg.

Addresses: Dr David C. Houston, Zoology Department, Glasgow University, Glasgow
G12 8QQ, Scotland. Dr Allan Hall, Geology and Applied Geology Department,
Glasgow University, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland. Dr Hans Frey, Zoology and
Parasitology Department, Veterinary University, A-1030, Vienna, Austria.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

IN BRIEF
MAGGOTS IN THE DIET OF THE COLLARED DOVE

Columbids in general are granivorous. Small snails are, however,
regularly eaten during the breeding season as a source of calcium (e.g.
Murton et al. 1964; Ibis 106: 174-188), and several genera, including
Streptopelia, have been recorded eating other invertebrates (Goodwin
1970, Pigeons and Doves of the World). I report here the consumption of
maggots by Collared Doves Streptopelia decaocto.

While studying the ecology of the Collared Dove near Ludhiana, I
collected 206 birds for analysis of their gut contents, 10-20 in each
month. None of the birds collected in 11 months of the year contained
any insects. In July, however, 2 out of 16 (collected on 19 and 31 July
1985) had their crops full of maggots which were visible through the
transparent skin of the crop. In one of them about 25% of the maggots
were alive, and started moving about as soon as the crop was opened;
they were alive probably because the bird was dissected immediately
after being shot during the doves’ peak feeding period (07.00-
09.00 hrs). In the gizzards of both birds there were semi-digested
maggots, their bodies hollow with the cuticle intact. Other food items
present in small amounts in the guts of these doves were maize (1.09%
by weight), wheat (0.29%), weed seeds (0.72%) and grit (5.80%);
maggots formed the remaining 92.1%. Both birds were adult males in
normal healthy condition, with no wounds or infections which might
have accounted for the maggots. Collared Doves were often seen
probing organic manure added to the fields, and also cattle dung kept in
manure pits, and it is probable that the maggots were obtained in this
way. In other doves whose gut contents were analysed, grain recovered
from the crops sometimes had bits of dung attached.

The food of Collared Doves in this area (Saini & Toor 1994, in
Granivorous Birds in Polluted Environments; PWN, Warsaw) is
composed of seeds of cultivated and wild plants (85%) and grit (15%).
Animal matter, especially snail shells, forms only <1% of total food.
The recorded unusual intake of animal matter in the diet in July
coincides with the period of food scarcity for doves. In my study area,
there are two main crop seasons, viz. rabi (November—December to
March—April) and kharif (June-July to October-November). Major
kharif crops (rice, maize and pulses) are sown by the end of June and
after sprouting become unavailable to doves. Saini & Toor (loc. cit.)
reported that weed seeds formed the main part (53%) of the diet of

Books Received 264 Bull. B.O.C. 1993 113(4)

doves in July, and attributed it to the unavailability of other crop seeds
in this area.

I am grateful to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research for financial assistance, and
to Drs M. S. Dhindsa and M. S. Saini for commenting on the manuscript

Department of Zoology, HARJEET KAUR SAINI
Punjab Agricultural University,
Ludhiana—141 004, India. 22 September 1992

BOOKS RECEIVED

World Conservation Monitoring Centre. 1993. World Checklist of Threatened Birds.
Pp. xii+308. Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough (available from
Natural History Book Service Ltd., 2 Wills Road, Totnes, Devon TQ95XN).
ISBN 1-873701-45-4. £26. 30 x 21 cm.

This is the 3rd edition of one in a series of volumes (the others cover other animal
groups) prepared for the U.K.’s Scientific Authority for Animals to assist in
implementing the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora (CITES). For each species the range (breeding, non-breeding and
vagrant) 1s given, its “threat category’ (endangered, vulnerable, insufficiently known,
etc.), and key references (by number, referring to a numbered list of 1559 references
which itself constitutes a useful compilation of recent literature).

Sibley, C. G. & Monroe, B. L., Jr. 1993. A Supplement to Distribution and Taxonomy of
Birds of the World. Pp. vit108. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-05549-8. £19.95.
29 x 22 cm.

After publication of their monumental Distribution and Taxonomy ... (for review, see
vol. 111: 110-112), the authors requested suggestions for improvement or correction.
The response was “‘extensive and gratifying’; the present supplement is the result. It is
in two parts: a short section (13 pages) containing changes in systematics that affect
classification or scientific names, and the main section containing a variety of other
changes to the text. Apart from some name changes for higher categories, the changes
affect lower taxonomic levels, mainly species and superspecies; the still controversial
revolutionary classification, based on DNA-DNA hybridization, is unchanged. Anyone
owning the main work should have this supplement, which is of the same design and
general format, but soft-covered.

Monroe, B. L., Jr. & Sibley, C. G. 1993. A World Checklist of Birds. Pp. xix+393. Yale

University Press. ISBN 0-300-05547-1. £35. 26 x 18 cm. :

A species-level checklist, based on the classification set out in the Sibley & Monroe
Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World and its supplement (see above). There is
a line for each species, giving scientific and English name, a very brief statement of range,
and a space for the reader’s note(s). Taxa not admitted by the authors as species but
considered so by others, i.e. borderline cases, are listed under the relevant species
heading. There are two indexes, totalling 57 pages, of generic and English names. This is
probably the most complete avian species list of handy size that makes some (limited)
allowance for MS notes and additions according to the user’s needs.

NOTICE TO CONTRIBUTORS

Papers, from Club Members or non-members, should be sent to the Editor, Dr
D. W. Snow, The Old Forge, Wingrave, Aylesbury, Bucks HP22 4PD, U.K., and
must be offered solely to the Bulletin. They should be typed on one side of the
paper, with treble-spacing and a wide margin, and submitted in duplicate. The
style and lay-out should conform with usage in this or recent issues of the Bulletin.

A contributor is entitled to 10 free offprints of the pages of the Bulletin in which his
contribution, if one page or more in length, appears. Additional offprints or offprints of
contributions of less than one page may be ordered when the manuscript is submitted and
will be charged for. Authors may be charged for proof corrections for which they are
responsible.

BACK NUMBERS OF THE BULLETIN

Available on application to the Hon. Treasurer, as below (Vol. 93 onwards, 4
issues per year; Vols. 89—92, 6 issues per year; Vols. 88 and earlier, generally 9
issues per year): 1993 and after (Vols. 113 onwards) £4.50 each issue; 1983-92
(Vols. 103-112) £4 each issue; 1981—2 (Vols. 101 & 102) £3.50 each issue; 1980
(Vol. 100) No. 1 £4.50, Nos. 2,3 & 4 £2.50 each issue; 1973—9 (Vols. 93-99) £2.50
each issue; 1969-72 (Vols. 89-92) £2 each issue; 1929-68 (Vols. 50—88) £1.20 each
issue; Vol. 49 and before £2.50 each issue.

Indices: Vol. 70 and after £1.50 each; Vols. 50-69 £2.50 each; Vol. 49 and
before £6 each.

Long runs (10 years or more) for Vol. 50 and after are available at reduced rates
on enquiry. Postage and packing extra. Orders over £50 post free. Special issue
Vol. 112A, 1992, in hardback, 300p, £32, inc. p&p.

MEMBERSHIP
Only Members of the British Ornithologists’ Union are eligible to join the
Club; applications should be sent to the Hon. Treasurer, as below, together with
the annual subscription (£8.50 or, if preferred, U.S. $22 for 1993, postage and
index free). Changes of address and any correspondence concerning membership
should be addressed to the Hon. Treasurer.

SUBSCRIPTION TO-THE BULEEDIN
The Bulletin (Vol. 113 onwards) may be purchased by non-members on pay-
ment of the annual subscription (£18 or, if preferred, U.S. $40 for 1993, postage
and index free). Applications should be sent to the Hon. Treasurer. Single issues
may be obtained as back numbers.

PAYMENTS TO HON. TREASURER

Payments should be sent to the Hon. Treasurer, S. J. Farnsworth, Hammerkop,
Frogmill, Hurley, Maidenhead, Berks SL6 5NL, U.K., or credited direct to the
Club’s bank account—No. 10211540, Sort Code 2000 87, at Barclays Prime
Account, P.O. Box 125, Northampton NN1 1SO, U.K., with confirmation to the
Hon. Treasurer. All payments are net and should be in Sterling if possible.
Payment in other currencies must include a further £3 for U.K. Bank Charges
(except for annual rates in U.S. Dollars which are inclusive).

CORRESPONDENCE
Correspondence about Club Meetings and on all other matters should go to
the Hon. Secretary, Mrs A. M. Moore, 1 Uppingham Road, Oakham, Rutland
LE15 6JB, U.K.

CONTENTS

Page
CLUB NOTICES 6. G)oi d/o Mise spslelg Sudiia ce ae) wigs Rie'dc) 68) A Se 193
woops,R.W. Cobb’swren Troglodytes (aedon) cobbiof the Falkland
sSlantds7e ahs «ecco sreteew ei selena eos ark ave aleckcoe pane 195
ALSTROOM, P., RIPLEY, S. D. & RASMUSSEN, P.C. Re-evaluation of the
taxonomic status of Phylloscopus subaffinis arcanus ........... 207
CAVALCANTI, R. B. & MARINI, M.A. Body masses of birds of the cerrado
region, Brazilioy. A) 0 cad ee sl apeelese ee el ee 210
CISNEROS-PALACIOS, E. & BONILLA-RUZ, C. New distributional infor-
mation on Mexican birds III. Northern Oaxaxa............. 213
HAFTORN, S. Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus imitating the
songiot the Chittchatt Picollybita 45.7 Gee eee 216
VIOLANI, C. G. & MASSA, B. Extinction of the Andalusian Hemipode
Turnix s. sylvatica (Desf.) in the Mediterranean region ....... 225
SCHODDE, R. Stabilization of the scientific name for the White-
browed Treecreeper (Climacteridae) by neotypification...... 230

BEST, B. J., CLARKE, C. T., CHECKER, M., BROOM, A. L., THEWLIS, R. M.,
DUCKWORTH, W. & MCNAB, A. Distributional records, natural
history notes, and conservation of some poorly known birds
from southwestern Ecuador and northwestern Peru (continued) 234

DICKERMAN, R. W. On the validity of Ceyx (Myioceyx) lecontet

VAULPUCE DSS ose REO ME N aGReS NE NC ESGN stn eater 255
BONSER, R. H.C. & WALKER, C.A. Some notes on type material of moas

(Aves: Dinornithidae)) cc) kee ero ee eee Dh
HOUSTON, D. C., HALL, A. & FREY, H. ‘The characteristics of the

cosmetic soils used by Bearded Vultures Gypaetus barbatus ... 260
In Brief SAINI,H.K. Maggots in the diet of the Collared Dove ... 263
BOOKS ‘RECEIVED: 2 £55 Dossier Wa Rees Ne RISE STE ee aoe CE ee 264

The Bulletin is despatched from the printers on publication and is sent by Surface Saver Postal
Services to all European destinations outside the U.K. and by Air Saver Postal Services to
destinations outside Europe. Those whose subscriptions have not been received by the begin-
ning of a month of publication will have their copies despatched by surface mail, after their
current subscription has been paid.

COMMITTEE
D. Griffin (Chairman) (1993) Revd T. W. Gladwin ( Vice-Chairman) (1993)
Dr D. W. Snow (Editor) (1991) S.J. Farnsworth ( Treasurer ) (1990)
Mrs A. M. Moore (Hon. Secretary) (1989) Cdr M. B. Casement, OBE, RN (1990)
Dr J. F. Monk (1991) Dr R. A. Cheke (1991)

R.E. F. Peal (1993)

Printed on acid-free paper.

Published by the BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB and printed by
Henry Ling Ltd., at the Dorset Press, Dorchester, Dorset

BULLETIN
of the

BRITISH
ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB

EDITED BY

Dr D. W. SNOW

Volume 113
1993

il

OFFICERS OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB

PS SCLATER

Lord ROTHSCHILD

W. L. SCLATER

H. F. WITHERBY

Dr P. R. Lowe

Maj. S. S. FLOWER

Dr D. A. BANNERMAN

G. M. MatHEews

Dr A. LANDSBOROUGH
‘THOMSON

D. SETH-SMITH

Dr J. M. Harrison

Sir PHiLip Manson-BAHR

Col. R. MEINERTZHAGEN

Lord ROTHSCHILD

W. L. SCLATER

H. F. WITHERBY

G. M. MatHews

N. B. KINNEAR

H. WHISTLER

D. SETH-SMITH

Col. R. SpaRRow

Dr G. CARMICHAEL Low
Hon. Guy CHARTERIS

W. L. SCLATER

Dr D. A. BANNERMAN
Capt. C. H. B. Grant

B. W. ‘TUCKER

F. J. F. BaRRINGTON

Dr E. Hopkinson

C. W. MackworTH-PRAED
Dr J. M. Harrison

Sir PHiLip Manson-BAHR
B. G. HARRISON

R. BOWDLER-SHARPE

W. R. OGILVIE-GRANT
Dr D. A. BANNERMAN
D. SETH-SMITH

Dr P. R. Lowe

N. B. KINNEAR

Dr G. CARMICHAEL Low
Capt. C. H. B. Grant
Dr G. CarMICHAEL Low

Chairmen

1892-1913 C. W. MackwortTH-PRAED
1913-1918 Capr. C. R. S. Pitman
1918-1924 May.-Gen. C. B.
1924-1927 WAINWRIGHT
1927-1930 R.S.R. FItrrTer
1930-1932 Dr J. F. Monx
1932-1935 Sir HucH ELLiotr
1935-1938 J. H. ELcoop

P. Hoce
1938-1943 D. R. CaLpDER
1943-1946 B. Gray
1946-1950 Revd G. K. McCuLiLocu
1950-1953 R.E. F. Peat
1953-1956 D. GRIFFIN

PAST AND PRESENT

Vice-Chairmen

1930-1931 Lt.-Col. W. P. C. TENISON

1931-1932 Miss E. M. GopmMaANn

1932-1933 Col. R. MEINERTZHAGEN

1933-1934 Maj. A. G. L. SLapEN

1934-1935 Col. R. MEINERTZHAGEN

1935-1936 E. M. NicHoLson

1936-1937 Capt. C. R. S. PrITMan

1937-1938 Mrs B. P. Hatt

1938-1939 R.S.R. FITTER

1938-1939 Dr J. F. Monk

1939-1940 Sir Hucu ELLiotr

1939-1940 J. H. ELtcoop

1940-1943 P. Hoce

1940-1943 Dr G. Bevan

1943-1945 B. Gray

1943-1945 Revd G. K. McCuLLtocu

1945-1946 D. GRIFFIN

1945-1946 J. H. E_coop

1946-1947 D. GRIFFIN

1946-1947 Revd. T. W. GLapDwINn
Editors

1892-1904 Lt.-Col. W. P. C. TENIson

1904-1914 Capt. C. H. B. Grant

1914-1915 Dr J. G. Harrison

1915-1920 J. J. YEALLAND

1920-1925 CC. W. BENSON

1925-1930 Sir HuGH ELLIoTT

1930-1935 Dr J. F. Monk

1935-1940 Dr D. W. SNow

1940-1945

Honorary Secretaries and Treasurers

HowarpD SAUNDERS

W. E. De WINTON

H. F. WITHERBY

Dr P. R. Lowe

C. G. 'TaLBoT-PONSONBY
Dr D. A. BANNERMAN

1892-1899
1899-1904
1904-1914
19 N4—19i1S
1915-1918
1918-1919

Dr PuHILip GossE

J. L. BONHOTE

C. W. MackworTH-PRAED
Dr G. CARMICHAEL LOw
C. W. MackworTH-PRAED

1956-1959
1959-1962

1962-1965
1965-1968
1968-1971
1971-1974
1974-1977
1977-1980
1980-1983
1983-1986
1986-1989
1989-1993
1993—

1947-1948
1947-1948
1948-1949
1948-1949
1949-1953
1953-1956
1956-1959
1959-1962
1962-1965
1965-1968
1968-1971
1971-1974
1974 SNOT,
1977-1980
1980-1983
1983-1986
1986-1989
1989-1990
1990-1993
1993—

1945-1947
1947-1952
1952-1961
1962-1969
1969-1974
1974-1975
1976-1990
1991—

1919-1920
1920-1922
1922-1923
1923-1929
1929-1935

il

Honorary Secretaries

Dr A. LANDSBOROUGH N. J. P. WaDLEY 1950-1960

‘THOMSON 1935-1938 Miss E. ForsTER 1960-1962
C. R. STONER 1938-1940 Dr J. G. Harrison 1962-1964
N. B. KINNEAR 1940-1943 C. J. O. Harrison 1964-1965
Dr G. CARMICHAEL Low 1943-1945 M. W. Woopcock 1965-1969
Lt.-Col. W. P. C. TENISON 1945-1947. D.R. CaLpErR 1969-1971
Capt. C. H. B. GRANT 1947 R. E. F. Peau 1971-1989
W. E. GLEGG 1947-1949 Mrs A. M. Moore 1989-
Miss G. M. RHODES 1950

Honorary Treasurers

C. W. MackworTH-PRAED 1935-1936 P. TaTE 1962-1974
Maj. A. G. L. SLADEN 1936-1942 M. St. J. Succ 1974-1978
Miss E. P. LEacH 1942-1949 Mrs D. M. BrapLey 1978-1990
C. N. WALTER 1950-1962 S.J. FaRNSworTH 1990-
COMMITTEE
Elected 18 May 1993
D. GRIFFIN, m.a. Chairman (1993) S.J. FARNSWORTH Aon. Treasurer
Dr D. W. SNOW Editor (1991) (1990)
Mrs A. M. MOORE Hon. Secretary Dr. R. A. CHEKE (1991)
(1989) Dr. J. F. MONK (1991)
Cdr M. B. CASEMENT, R. E. F. PEAL (1993)

O.B.E., R.N., RETD. (1990)
Reverend T. W. GLADWIN
Vice-Chairman (1993)

CHANGES IN MEMBERSHIP 1993
New Members

P. Alstrom N. J. Lindsay Ava Robinsoni,:.ah. S$: Qan

M. Berezantseva J Si Lyes C. Ryall C. Urdiales

R. C. Brace C. Mead A. Schulz I. Williams

R. J. Chandler C. Patrick C. Simms F. K-O. Wong
I. Hertzler N. E. Robertson K. W. Supple-Kane B.S. Young
Re-elected

P. J. K. Burton, A. J. Holcombe, J. E. McCarthy

Deaths

The Committee very much regrets to report the deaths of the following Members (see
Report of the Committee for 1993): P. J. Conder O.B.E. (Member 1952-1993,
Committee 1982-1985), N. R. Fuggles-Couchman (Member 1991-1993) and K. D.
Pickford (Member 1948-1993).

Resignations in respect of 1993

J. Alder, J. N. B. Brown, N. A. Campbell, A. P. Gosling, L. G. Holloway, A. J.
Kench, P. J. S. Olney, S. J. Ormerod, H. M. Pain, R. A.. Pitman, M. Reutter, F.
Willemyns.

Removed from membership under Rule (7)

R. A. H. Barber, T. Beer, A. Borras Hosta, B. J. Brown, K. W. F. Clarke, D. R. Collins,
J. Dorst, M. Eens, J. T. Eley, S. Fulford, D. J. Glaves, M. L. J. Herremans, S. J. L.
Hill, H. J. F. G. Huijbers, E. S. Jamnicky, T. J. Klonovski, C. Kostense, R. Lardelli,
M. B. J. Leighton, K-H, Loske, A. J. R. Perera, S. Procter, F. J. Purroy, J. W.
Robinson, A. W. Smith, J. P. Stephens, P. Straw, R. R. van Oosten, M. S. Witter.

As the

1V

BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB
LIST OF MEMBERS

paid up at 31 December 1993

Bulletin is posted regularly to the addresses in this List of Members the Honorary

Treasurer should be notified immediately of any change or correction.

Where

1986
1983
1984
1988
1980
1989
1993
1978
1980

1990
1980
1976
1986
1978
1974
1981

1969
1985
1986
1986
1986
1991
1951
1992
1989

1992
1987
1985
1979
1989
1976
1976
1966
1993
1979
1986
1982
1980
1985
1991
1958
1986
1966
1981
1956-70,
1993

1953
1985

1980
1990
1989
1966

1987
1987
1979
1981
1991
1976

1989
1963-91,
1976

no other country is named the address given is in the United Kingdom.

Apvcock, M. A.; ‘The Saltings’’, 53 Victoria Drive, Great Wakering, SOUTHEND-ON-SEA, Essex SS3 0AT

AGuILLo Cano, I. F.; Apartado 129, 26200 Haro (La Rioja), Spain

Arpey, Dr D. J.; The Old Woolpack, Morley St. Botolph, wymonpHam, Norfolk NR18 9AA

ALBERTI, P.; Via B Cellini 10, 21052 BusTo arsizio, Italy

ALLIson, R.; The Laurels, Manchester Road, Sway, LYMINGTON, Hants SO40AS

ALLport, G.; 29 Mill Road, over, Cambridge CB4 5PY

AusTROM, P.; Kungsgatan 3, 462 33 vANERSBORG, Sweden

Attman, Dr A. B.; PO Box 441, GREAT BARRINGTON, MA 01230-0441, USA

Amapon, Dr D.; American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th St, NEW york, NY 10024,
USA

ANDERTON, W. N.; 16 Skipton Road, Embsay, skrpron, N. Yorkshire BD23 6QL

ANTRAM, F. B. S.; PO Box 340, Belconnen, CANBERRA 2616, Australia

Arita IcHrro; 23 ban 1go 5F, Minami Aoyama 4 chome, Minato-ku, rokyo 107, Japan

ArLott, N. A.; Hill House, School Road, TILNEY sT LAWRENCE, Norfolk PE34 4RB

Asu, Dr J. S.; Godshill Wood, FoRDINGBRIDGE, Hants SP6 2LR

AsuTon, P. J.; National Institution for Water Research, CSIR, PO Box 395, preToRIA 0001, South Africa

AsPINWALL, Dr D. R.; PO Box 50653, r1pGEWay 15101, Zambia

Backuurst, G. C.; PO Box 15194, Narropi, Kenya

Baker, Mrs E. M.; PO Box 23404, par ES SALAAM, Tanzania

Baker, E. W.; 10 Rose Grove, Roman Bank, sKEGNEsS, Lincs PE25 1SH

Baker, Miss H.; 27 Pheasants Way, RICKMANSWORTH, Herts WD3 2EX

Baker, N. E.; Aquila Engineering Services, PO Box 23404, DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania

-BALEN, S. van; PO Box 47, BoGor 16001, Indonesia

Bartow, Capt. Sir THomas, Bt., D.S.C., R.N.; 45 Shepherds Hill, Highgate, LONDON N6

Barritt, M. K.; Spring House, Claypits Farm, Upottery, HoNrIron, Devon EX14 9QP

Bates, J. M.; Dept of Ornithology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th St, NEW
yorK NY 10024 USA

BAUMANN, S.; Gut Nettelau 13A, D-24601 sro_tpr, Germany

Baytis, A. H.; 135 Fairbridge Road, LONDON N19 3HF

BEAKBANE, Mrs A. J.; 26 Cathcart Road, LONDON SW10 9NN

Beaman, M. A. S.; Two Jays, Kemple End, Birdy Brows, sronyHuRST, Lancs BB6 9OY

Beck, B. H.; 25 St Thomas, West Parade, BEXHILL ON SEA, E Sussex TTN39 3YA

BECKING, J. H.; Ericalaan 7, 6703 EM waGENINGEN, Netherlands

BeLman, P. J.; Number Two, School Passage, sourHALL, Middx UB1 2DR

BENNETT, P.; 29 Loop Road South, WHITEHAVEN, Cumbria

BEREZANTSEVA, Dr M.; 34 Malyi Av. P.s. Apt 36, St PETERSBURG 197110, Russia

Betton, K. F.; 8 Duke’s Close, Folley Hill, FARNHAM, Surrey GU9 ODK (Committee 1985-1988 )

Binpeman, Mrs J.; 41 Lovett Road, Byfield, DAVENTRY, Northants NN11 6XF

BisHop, K. D.; Semioptera, Lot 15, Kerns Road, kINcUMBER, NSW 2250, Australia

Bison, P. W.; C Springerstraat 11-II, 1073 LD amstEerpam, Netherlands

Bock, Prof. W. J., Ph.D.; Dept of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, NEW yorK, NY 10027, USA

BonFIELD, C. L.; Yew Tree Cottage, Great Easton, DUNMow, Essex CM6 2HQ

Bootn, Major B. D- McDonatp; Fonthill Lodge, Hinden Lane, TisBury, Wilts SP3 6PX

BoreL_o, Mrs W. D.; PO Box 603, GABORONE, Botswana

BoswaLt, J. H. R.; Birdswell, Wraxall, BrisroL BS19 1JZ (Committee 1973-1976 )

BoucutTon, R. C.; Croftfoot, Ennerdale, CLEATOR, Cumbria CA23 3AZ

1984 Bourne, Dr W. R. P.; 3 Contlaw Place, Milltimber, ABERDEEN AB1 0DS

Brace, Dr R. C.; Dept of Life Science, University of Nottingham, University Park, NoTTINGHAM
NG7 2RD

BrapLey, Mrs D. M.; 6 Ariel Court, Ashchurch Park Villas, LONDON W129SR (Committee 1968-1972,
1975-1978, Hon. Treasurer 1978-1989)

Brap_Ley, Mrs P. E.; (Turks & Caicos), Foreign & Commonwealth Office, King Charles Street, LONDON
SW1A 2AH

BrapsHaw, C. D.; Heather Hill, Stoney Cross, Nr LyNpHURST, Hants SO43 7GP

BrapsHaw, C. G.; 112 Lonsdale Drive, Rainham, GILLINGHAM, Kent ME8 9JA

Briccs, Dr K. B.; 2 Osborne Road, FARNBOROUGH, Hants GU14 6PT

Britton, P. L.; All Souls’ and St Gabriel’s School, PO Box 235, CHARTER TOWERS, Queensland 4820,
Australia

Broap, D.; 15 Cotsford Avenue, NEW MALDEN, Surrey KT3 5EU

Brown, S. P.; 7 Bartle Place, Ashton, PRESTON, Lancs PR2 1LS

Browne, P. W. P.; 116 Chrichton Street, orrawa, Ontario, Canada K1M 1V8

Bryant, Dr D. M.; Dept of Biology, University of Stirling, stiIRLING FK9 4LA

BucKNELL, N. J.; 7 Pound Cottages, Wallingford Road, Streatley, READING, RG8 9JH

Bux, Dr J.; American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th St, NEW york, NY 10024,
USA

Bu 1, P. J.; 35 Melbury Avenue, NORWOOD GREEN, Middlesex UB2 4HS

1993 Burton, Dr P. J. K.; High Kelton, Doctors Commons Road, BERKHAMSTED, Herts HP4 3DW

Bynon, Dr J.; Lippitt’s End, Mott Street, High Beach, LouGHTON, Essex [G10 4AP

1988
1963

1987
1977
1981
1982
1970

1971

1986
1979
1993
1986
1988
1973
1963
1980
1987
1977
1985
1938

1985
1989
1992
1989
1986
1987
1979
1976
1986
1985
1981
1984
1991
1961
1979
1980
1975
1986
1984
1973
1986
1981
1991
1986
1989
1978

1958
1946
1980

1988
1991
1988
1986
1936
1983
1986
1973

1985
1975
1990
1987
1985
1970
1978
1984
1974
1965
1952
1957
19386
1962
1936

1986
1967
1985

V

Casort, J.; Pabellon del Peru, Avda Maria Luisa S/N, 41013 sEvILLE, Spain

Caper, D. R.; Melrose House, Ridgway, PYRFORD, Surrey GU22 8PN (Committee 1967-1969, 1984-1987,
Hon. Secretary 1969-1971, Chairman 1980-1983 )

CANNINGS-BUSHELL, P. C.; Cutsdale, The Hyde, wiINcHcomBE, Glos GL5 5QR

CARSWELL, Dr M.; 38 Park Avenue, ORPINGTON, Kent

Carter, A. G. T.; UNICEF (New Delhi), Palais des Nations, CH 1211 GENEva 10, Switzerland

Carter, C.; PO Box 71793, NpoLa, Zambia

CartHy, D. P.; Data Processing Unit, Dept. of Dentistry, University of Hong Kong, 34 Hospital Road,
Hong Kong

CasEMENT, Cdr M. B., O.B.E., R.N.; Dene Cottage, West Harting, PETERSFIELD, Hants GU315PA
(Committee 1990-)

Cattaneo, G.; Via Mussatti 2, 10080 Rivara CAM (TorINno), Italy

CHANCELLOR, R. D.; 15b Bolton Gardens, LONDON SW5 OAL (Committee 1979-1982)

CHANDLER, Prof R. J.; 2 Rusland Avenue, ORPINGTON, Kent BR6 8AU

CHapman, S. E.; ‘“‘Steeplefield’’, Marlpost Road, Southwater, HORSHAM, Sussex RH13 7BZ

CHapMAN-Korron, Ms A.; Dept of Zoology, University of Queensland, BRISBANE, QLD 4072, Australia

CHATFIELD, D. G. P.; Rhiwenfa, Rhiw, PWLLHELI, Gwynedd LL53 8AE

Cuaytor, Dr R. G.; Triangle, Keenley, ALLENDALE, Northumberland NE47 9NT

CHeKE, Dr R. A.; N.R_I., Central Avenue, Chatham Maritime, CHATHAM, Kent ME44TB (Committee 1991—)

CHESHIRE, N. G.; + Willora Road, EDEN HILLS, South Australia 5050, Australia

Curistmas, T. J.; 2 Dymock St, LONDON SW6 3HA

Curisty, P.; 1 Rue des Promenades, 79.500 MELLE, France

Criancey, P. A., D.Sc.; Suite 19, Caistor Lodge, 264 Musgrave Road, Berea, DURBAN 4001, South Africa
(Hon. Life Member)

CraripcE, J. C. R.; 17 Moana Road, Plimmerton, via WELLINGTON, New Zealand

CriarkeE, M. C. A.; Hilltop, Newton, Martley, worcEsTER WR6 6PR

CxarkE, P. B.; Pipers, East Hoathley, LEwEs, Sussex BN8 6QX

CoLeMaNn, B.; Little Place, Rogers Lane, STOKE poGES, Bucks SL2 4LU

CoLeMaNn, J. R.; Hewelsfield, Snowdenham Links Road, BRAMLEY, Surrey GUS 0BX

Co.ttns, I. D.; Bryher, 10 Row Lane, Seend Cleeve, MELKSHAM SN12 6PR

Co tins, R. E. C.; Seatonden, Seaton, Ickham, CANTERBURY, Kent CT3 1SL

Coxston, P. R.; Sub-Dept. of Ornithology, British Museum (Natural History), TRING, Herts HP23 6AP

CONTENTO, G.; Via Desenibus 8, 34074 MONFALCONE, Italy

Coox, Dr Marion; Scheibenbergstrasse 2015, A 1180, viENNA, Austria

Coomser, R. F.; Springfield, Bashley Road, NEW MILTON, Hants BH25 5RX

Cornwa Lis. Dr L.; Glyme Farm, Charlbury Road, CHIPPING NORTON, Oxon OX7 5XJ

Costas, R.; Avda da Florida 95—7B, 36210 vico (Pontevedra), Spain

CoTTreELL, G. W., Jnr; PO Box 1487, HILLsBorRO, NH 03244, USA

Court-SmitH, Sq. Ldr. D. St J.; Ascot, 41 West St, MINEHEAD, Somerset TA24 5EJ

Cowan, Dr P. J.; Gleann Cottage, Glenlomond, kKINRoss, Tayside KY13 7HF

Cow tes, G. S.; Tetherstones, 23 Kirkdale Road, HARPENDEN, Herts ALS 2PT

Cox, Dr R. A. F.; Linden House, Long Lane, Fowlmere, Royston, Herts SG8 7TG

Crappock, B.; 44 Haling Road, Penkridge, starrorD ST195DA

THE EarL OF CRANBROOK, Ph.D.; Great Glemham House, Great Glemham, sAXxMUNDHAM, Suffolk IP17 1LP

Critiey, T. L.; 73 Cleveland Road, NORTH SHIELDS, Tyne & Wear NE29 ONW

Crocker, N. J.; Arlington, Douro Road, CHELTENHAM, Glos GL50 2PF

Crockett, D. E.; 21 McMillan Avenue, Kano, NORTHLAND, New Zealand

Crossy, M. J.; 30 Molewood Close, cAMBRIDGE CB4 3SH

Cross, J. K.; 62 Hulbert Road, Bedhampton, Havant, Hants PO9 3TG

CroucHer, R. A. N.; Uplands Lodge, Manor Road, smerHwick, W. Midlands B67 6SA (Committee
1980-1984)

CupwortTH, J.; 17a Prospect Road, ossETT, Yorks WF5 8AE

CUNNINGHAM VAN SOMMEREN, G. R.; PO Box 24947, Karen, NAIROBI, Kenya

Curtis, W. F.; Farm Cottage, Church Lane, Atwick, DRIFFIELD, E. Yorks YO25 8DH

Da Fonesca, P. S. M.; Rua Diamantina 20/201, 22461-050, r1o DE JANEIRO RJ, Brazil

DanrzL, A. R.; 21 Kingsbury Avenue, DUNSTABLE, Beds LU5 4PU

DauLn_, J-M.; Rue Laforge 11, 6997 MORMONT- EREZEE, Belgium

Davipson, I. S.; 49 Benton Park Road, NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE NE7 7LX

Davies, J.; 83 Rectory Lane, Leybourne, WEST MALLING, Kent ME19 5HD

Davies, Dr M. G.; Summerleas, Crapstone Road, YELVERTON, Devon PL20 6BT

Davis, C. J.; 4 Muller Road, Horfield, BristoL BS7 0AA

Davison, Dr G. W. H.; WWF (Malaysia), Locked Bag No 911, Jalan Sultan, PO 46990 PETALING Jaya,
Malaysia

Dean, A. R.; 2 Charingworth Road, soLrHuLL, W. Midlands B92 8HT

Dean, W. J. R.; Karoo Biome Research, PO Box 47, PRINCE ALBERT 6930, South Africa

Demarcui, Dr P.; Via Castagnola 7, 43100 parma, Italy

Demey, R. ; Grote Peperstraat 3, B-9100 stnT-NIKLAAs, Belgium

Denton, M. L.; 77 Hawthorne Terrace, Crosland Moor, HUDDERSFIELD, Yorks HD4 5RP

DesFayeEs, M.; Prevan, CH 1920 ruL_y, Switzerland

DeviLiers, Dr P. J.; 11 Avenue de |’Oisseau Bleu, B1150 BrussELs, Belgium

Diamonp, Dr A. W.; 1033 University Drive, saskATOON, Saskatchewan, Canada S7N 0K4

Dick, J. A., F.R.C.S.; 33 St Mary’s Road, LONDON SW19 7BP

Dickinson, E. C.; Norman Chapel, Aston Magna, MORETON IN MARSH , Glos GL56 9QN

Dickinson, H. J.; Abinger Cottage, Paston, NORTH WALSHAM, Norfolk NR28 9TB

DiLiincHaM, I. H., The Low House, Lower Longwith, Collingham, WETHERBY, W. Yorks LS22 5BX

Dogsins, R.; 317 Gladbeck Way, ENFIELD, Middx EN2 7HR

DowsetrT, R. J.; 12 rue des Lavandes, GANGES F-34190, France

Duckett, J. W.; 94 Lorong Chong Khoon Lin 6, Ukay Heights, 68000 ampanc, Selangor DE, Malaysia

Earp, M. J.; 63 Ivinghoe Road, Bushey, waTrorp, Herts WD2 3SW
Eppiz, W. M. M.; 20 Gosford Place, EDINBURGH EH6 4BH
Eben, R. M. G.; Haliki, Lower Beach Road, West Bexington, DORCHESTER, Dorset DT2 9DG

1963

1973
1985
1986
1986
1986

1988
1986

1988
1981
1979
1978

1976
1986
1943

1991

1991
1984
1985
1978
1979
1965

1981
1959
1992
1976
1988

1991
1974
1966
1986

1962-70,

1975
1983

1970
1981

1985
1991
1953
1977
1986
1988
1968

1977
1984
1977
1963
1986
1974

1990
1964
1987

1981
1981
1948

1978

1963
1979
1986
1956
1990
1985
1979
1977
1990
1960

vi

Extcoop, J. H.; Flat 16, The Anchorage, 157 Mudeford, cHristcHuRCH BH23 4AG (Committee 1967-1970,
1986-90, Vice-Chairman 1971-1974, Chairman 1974-1977)

Evxkins, D. A.; Le Frugier, St Mesmin, 24270 LANOUAILLE, France

Evswortny, Dr G. C.; 14 Greenbank Avenue, Maghull, LiverPpooL L31 2JQ

Ennis, L. H.; School Cottage, Plaistow, BILLINGSHURST, W. Sussex RH14 0PX

Erritzoe, J.; Taps GL Praestegaard, DK 6070 CHRISTIANSFELD, Denmark

Evans, G. G.; 1 Coach House Mews, Upper Church Road, WESTON-SUPER-MARE, Avon, BS23 2DY

FaNnsHAweE, J. H.; c/o I.C.B.P., 32 Cambridge Road, Girton, CAMBRIDGE CB3 OPJ

FARNSWORTH, S. J.; Hammerkop, Frogmill, Hurley, MAIDENHEAD, Berks SL6 5NL (Committee 1989-90, Hon.
Treasurer 1990—)

Fearg, Dr C. J.; MAFF, Tangley Place, worPLESDON, Surrey GU3 3LQ

FERGENBAUER-KIMMEL, Dr A.; Donrather Str. 2, D 53797, LoHMaRL, Germany

FreLp, G. D.; 37 Milton Grove, NEW MILTON, Hants BH25 6HB

FisHeR, Dr C. T.; Section of Birds and Mammals, Liverpool Museum, William Brown Street, LIVERPOOL
L3 8EN

FisHER, D. J.; 56 Western Way, SANDY, Beds SG19 1DU

FisHpPooL, Dr L. D. C.; 12 Mountain St, Chilham, CANTERBURY, Kent CT4 8DQ

Fitter, R. S. R.; Drifts, Chinnor Hill, oxrorp OX9 4BS (Committee 1959-1962, Vice-Chairman 1962-1965,
Chairman 1965-1968) (Hon. Life Member)

Firzpatrick, Dr S.; Dept of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster at Jordanstown,
NEWTOWN ABBEY, Co. Antrim BT37 0QB

FLynn, J. A.; 77 Braxted Park, LONDON SW16 3AU

Fow er, Dr J. A.; Hafod Heli, High Street, BortH, Dyfed SY24 5JE

FRANKE, Ms I.; Museo de Historia Natural, Casilla 140434, Lima 14, Peru

Fraser, M. W.; Sandbanks, Kenmuir Steps, Hopkirk Way, GLENCAIRN 7995, South Africa

FrusHER, D. M.; The Barn House, Greatworth, BANBURY, Oxon OX17 2DT

Fry, Prof. C. H., D.Sc.; Biology Dept., College of Science, Sultan Qaboos University, PO Box 32486, Al
Khoudh, Muscat, Oman

Gatey, C. P.; 219 Ainsdale Drive, Werrington, PETERBOROUGH, Cambs PE4 6RL

GALLAGHER, Major M. D.; c/o Box 668, Muscat 113, Oman

GaLLne_r, Dr J. C.; 16 rue Pavillon, 13001 MARSEILLE, France

Gatswortny, A. C., CMG; c/o FCO (Hong Kong), King Charles Street, LONDON SW1 2AH

GarRDNER-MEDWIN, Dr D.; Flocktous, Station Road, Heddon-on-the-Wall, NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE
NE15 0EG

GauntTLETT, F. M.; 55 Larkfield Avenue, HARROW, Middx HA3 8NQ

Grsss, A.; 48 Bolton Road, CHESSINGTON, Surrey KT9 2JB

Grsson, Dr J. A.; Foremount House, KILBARCHAN, Renfrewshire PA10 2EZ

Gm, D.; Bute Medical Building, University of St Andrews, FIFE KY16 9TS

1988 GILLHaM, E. H.; 31 Coast Drive, Lydd on Sea, ROMNEY MARSH, Kent TN29 9NL

Gitston, H.; Chemin des Mouettes 16, CH 1007, LAUSANNE, Switzerland

GLapwin, The Rev. T. W.; 90 Warren Way, Digswell, wELwyn, Herts AL60DL (Committee 1990-1993,
Vice-Chairman 1993-)

GoopaL.L, A. E.; 46 Adrian Road, Abbots Langley, watrorp, Herts WD5 0AQ

Goopman, S. M.; Dept of Zoology, Field Museum of Natural History, Roosevelt Road at Lakeshore Drive,
cHicaco, IL 60605, USA

Gorpon, J.; 1 Gallowsclough Road, sTALYBRIDGE, Cheshire SK15 3QS

Gortup, P. D.; 36 Kingfisher Court, Hambridge Road, NEwBury, Berks

Gorton, E.; 249 Wigan Road, Westhaughton, BoLTON, Lancs BL5 2AT

Gos.eEr, Dr A. G.; c/o E.G.I., Dept of Zoology, South Park Road, oxrorpD OX1 3PS

GouLDING, R. V. G.; 239a Carr Road, NORTHOLT, Middx UB45 4RL

Goutner, Dr V.; PO Box 50211, GDr 54013, THESSALONIKI, Greece

Gray, B.; 6 Totland Court, Victoria Road, MILFORD-ON-sEA, Hants SO410NR (Committee 1977-1980,
Vice-Chairman 1980-1983, Chairman 1983-1986)

GREEN, Prof. J., Ph.D.; 17 King Edwards Grove, TEDDINGTON, Middx TW11 9LY

GREENLAW, Dr J. S.; Biology Dept, L.1. University, BROOKVILLE, NY 11548, USA

GREENWOOD, Dr J. G.; Science Dept, Stranmills College, BELFast, BT9 5DY

GREENWOOD, Dr J. J. D.; B.T.O., The Nunnery, Nunnery Place, THETFORD, Norfolk IP24 2PU

Grecory, S. M. S.; 35 Monarch Road, Kingsthorpe Hollow, NORTHAMPTON NN2 6EH

GriFFIN, D.; 51a Palace Road, EAST MOLESEY, Surrey (Committee 1983-1986, Vice-Chairman 1986-1989,
Committee 1989-90, Vice-Chairman 1990-1993, Chairman 1993—)

GriFFITH, E.; Pentrecaeau Uchaf, LLANDEILO GRABAN, Powys LD2 3YX

Grimes, Dr L. G.; 3 St Nicholas Court, St Nicholas Church St, warwick CV34 4JD

Guttick, T. M.; c/o Mrs M. Parker, 5 Tile Barn Close, FARNBOROUGH, Hants GU14 8LS

Harrer, Dr J.; Tommesweg 60, D-4300 Essen 1, Germany

Hate, Prof. W. G., Ph.D.; 5 Ryder Close, Aughton, oRMSKIRK, Lance L39 5HJ

Hatt, Mrs B. P.; Woodside Cottage, Woodgreen, FORDINGBRIDGE, Hants SP6 2QU (Committee 1955-1959,
1962-1965, Vice-Chairman 1959-1962)

Hatt, Prof. G. A., Ph.D.; Dept of Chemistry, PO Box 6045, West Virginia University, MORGANTOWN, WV
26506-6045, USA

Hancock, J. A., O.B.E.; Jollers, Woodman Lane, Sparsholt, WINCHESTER, Hants SO21 2NS

Hanmer, Mrs D. B.; PO Box 3076, Paulington, MUTARE, Zimbabwe

Hansen, B. G.; Slettebakken 2, Lille Sverige, DK 3400 HILLEROD, Denmark

Har.ey, B. H.; Martins, Great Horkesley, COLCHESTER, Essex CO6 4AH

Harvey, Miss V. S., M.Sc.; 30 Margett Street, coTTENHAM, Cambs CB4 4QY

Harman, A. J. E.; 20 Chestnut Close, HocKLEY, Essex SS5 5EJ

Harper, W. G.; 8 Winton Grove, EDINBURGH EH107AS

Harpum, Dr J.; 58 Shindington Road, CHELTENHAM, Glos GL53 OJE

Harrap, S.; 13 Hempstead Road, Hott, Norfolk NR25 6DL

Harrison, C. J. O., Ph.D.; 48 Earls’ Crescent, HARROW, Middx HA11XN (Committee 1963-1964,
1965-1968, 1974-1977, Hon. Secretary 1964-1965)

1977
1974
1953
1974

1985
1991
1986
1989
1987
1991
1986
1986
1993
1984
1984
1989
1989
1990
1985
1981

1957

vil

Harrison, I. D.; Llyswen, Lon y felin, ABERAERON, Dyfed SA46 OED

Harvey, W. G.; "clo Eee (Nairobi), King Charles St. LONDON SWIA 2AH

Harwin, Dr R. M.; 2 Norman Close, PO Chisipite, HARARE, Zimbabwe

Hasecawa, H.; Dept. of Biology, Faculty of Science, Toho University, Miyama-cho, FUNIBASHI, Chiba 274,
Japan

Hausitz, Dr B.; Steimbker Hof 11, D 3000 HANovER 61, Germany

Hazevoet, C. J.; H. Coenradistr 27-2, 10963 XP amMsTERDAM, Netherlands

Hearp, G. E.; + Lambley Lane, GEDLING, Notts NG4 4PA

Heim, C. A. R.; The Banks, Mountfield, ROBERTSBRIDGE, East Sussex TN32 5JY

HeENpDERSON, A. C. B.; Flat 3, Eyhorne Cottage, Musket Lane, Hollingbourne, MaIpsTONE, Kent ME17 1UY

HENDERSON, D.; PO Box 29, LEGANA, Tasmania 7277, Australia

HENSHALL, K. W.; Crofthead, Penmark, BARRY, S. Glamorgan CF6 9BP

Heron, Cpl K.; RAF Boddington, CHELTENHAM, Glos GL5 10TL

HertTzLer, Ms I.; Westparkstr. 89, D-(W)-p4150 KREFELD, Germany

HEsKETH, W.; 2 Grasmere Close, Walton-le-Dale, PRESTON, Lancs PR5 4RR

Hewitson, D. R.; 1 Langley Road, Highcliffe, corIstcHURCH, Dorset, BH23 4RN

Hicerns, M. C.; 1 Acorn Close, BRIDLINGTON , N. Humberside YO16 5YX

Hix1, A.; Albrecht Haushofer Str 10, 3200 HILDESHEIM, Germany

HirscHFe_p, E.; IAL, Abu Dhabi Airport, POB 2411, anu pHaBI, United Arab Emirates

Hockey, Dr P. A. R.; P.F.I.A-O University of Cape Town, RONDEsSBOSCH 7700, South Africa

Hopeson, M. C.; CDC Jakarta, c/o Commonwealth Development Corporation, One Bessborough Gardens,
LONDON SW1V 2JQ

Hoce, P.; 44 West End, Kemsing, sEvENoAKs, Kent TN156PY (Committee 1962-1966, 1972-1974,
Vice-Chairman 1974-1977, Chairman 1977-1980)

1986-88, 1993 Hotcompe, A. J.; 7 The Ridgeway, TONBRIDGE, Kent TN10 4NQ

1933

1992
1973
1972
1980

1989
1970

1960
1981
1981
1978
1985
1981
1986
1992

1975
1987
1985

1986
1984
1984
1981
1978
1983

1973
1970
1986
1951
1989
1985
1989
1974
1982
1991
1980

1985
1986
1983
1989

1992
1960
1990
1982
1990
19381
1988
1984
1973
1979
1987

Ho.tiom, P. A. D.; Inwood Cottage, Hydestile, GoDALMING, Surrey GU84AY (Committee 1938-1941,
1947-1949, 1959-1963) (Hon. Life Member)

Hotioway, S. J.; Orchard Cottage, Elmsdale Crescent, aoMasTon, Telford TF4 0AQ

Homes, D. A.; 31 South View, UPPINGHAM, Leics LE15 9TU

Hotyoak, D. T.; Meadowside, Lower Carnkie, REDRUTH, Cornwall TR16 6SP

HomBerGER, Dr DomIniQugE, G.; Dept. of Zoology & Physiology, Louisiana State University, BATON ROUGE,
LA70803-1725, USA

HooGENDOORN, W.; Notengaard 32, 3941 LW poorn, Netherlands

Horne, Ms J. F. M.; American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th St, NEW yorK, NY
10024-5192, USA

Horwoop, M. T.; 2 Church Close, Benson, OxFORD, Oxon

Hounsome, Dr M. V.; Manchester University Museum, Oxford Road, MANCHESTER M13 9PL

Houston, Dr D. C.; Dept of Zoology, University of Glasgow, GLascow G12 8QQ

Hovet, Ing. H. G.; 55 Einstein Str., 34602 narra, Israel

Howarp, R. P.; Hogg House, Lower Basildon, READING, Berks RG8 9NH

Howe, S.; Alma House, 12 William Street, ToRPHINS, Grampian AB3 4JR

Hunter, A.; 16 Bollin Walk, Reddish Road, South Reddish, srockport SK5 7JW

Huron, A.; c/o MCB Ltd., PO Box 52, port Louis, Mauritius

InceEts, Dr J.; Galgenberglaan 9, B 9120 DESTELBERGEN, Belgium
INsKIPP, T.; noe World Conservation Monitoring Centre, 219c Huntingdon Road, CAMBRIDGE CB3 0DL
TRoNs, Dr J.K ; 9 Babylon Way, Ratton, EASTBOURNE, E. Sussex BN20 9DL

James, S. L.; Al Gar Building, Apt 1404, PO Box 26833, anu DHABI, United Arab Emirates

James, T. J.; 56 Back Street, Ashwell, BALDocK, Herts SG7 5PE

JenniINGs, M. C.; 1 Warners Farm, Warners Drove, SoMERSHAM, Cambs PE17 3HW

JENNINGS, P. P.; Garnfawr Bungalow, Bettws, Hundred House, LLANDRINDOD WELLS, Powys LD1 5RP

JENSEN, H.; Tolstoje Alle 26, DK 2860 sornorc, Denmark

Jepson, P. R.; ICBP Indonesia Programme, PO Box 212/800, JL Cilosari Block B XII No. 1, BoGor Baru,
Bogor 16001, Indonesia

JopLinc, J. A.; 14 The Valley Green, WELWYN GARDEN ciTy, Herts AL8 7DQ

Jounson, E. D. H.; Crabiere Cottage, Grande Route des Mielles, st OUEN, Jersey JE3 2FN, Channel Islands

Jounson, Major F.; 6 Norrington Mead, Broadmead Village, FOLKESTONE, Kent CT19 5TF

Jounson, H. P. H.; 17 Vie Bontempi, PERUGIA, Italy

Jounson, W. C. P.; 106 Upper Backway, Shrewton, saALisBury, Wilts SP3 4DE

Jounston, D.; 4 Burn Street, Longtown, CARLISLE, Cumbria CA6 5XW

Jounston, Dr J. P.; 4 Lawhead Road West, st ANDREWS, Fife KY16 9NE

Jones, Dr A. M.; Fiodhag, Dell Road, NETHYBRIDGE, Inverness-shire PH25 3DL

Jones, C. G.; c/o Forestry Quarters, BLACK RIVER, Mauritius, Indian Ocean

Jones, Ms. R. M.; 51 Lee Terrace, Blackheath, LONDON SE3 9TA

JONGELING, T. B.; 3 Oosterparkstraat 46-1, 1091 JZ amstERDAM, Netherlands

Kasoma, P. M. B. ; Dept of Zoology, Makerere University, PO Box 7062, KAMPALA, Uganda

Ketsey, Dr F. D.; White Cottage, Church Lane, Cley-next-the-Sea, HoLT, Norfolk NR25 7UD

Kesey, Dr M. G.; ICBP, 32 Cambridge Road, Girton, CAMBRIDGE CB3 OPJ

Kennepy, Dr R. S.; Cincinnatti Museum of Natural History, 1720 Gilbert Avenue, CINCINNATTI, OH 45202,
USA

KENNERLY, P.; Block 5, 01-04, Regency Park, Natham Road, sINGaporE 1024

Kent, J. de R.; Mews Cottage, Church Hill, mmipHurst, Sussex GU29 9NX

Kerr-SmiLey, Lt-Col. P. S.; Towranna Farm, Huntingfield, HALESwoRTH, Suffolk IP19 0QP

Kett_e, R. H.; 75 Dupont Road, LONDON SW20 8EH (Committee 1988-1991 )

Kuan, Dr Md Ati Reza; In Charge, Dubai Zoo, PO Box 67, puBal, United Arab Emirates

Kine J.; 96 Forbes AVenue, PoTTERS BAR, Herts EN6 5NQ

Kine, J. R.; Dept of Zoology, Edward Grey Institute, South Parks Road, oxrForp OX1 3PS

Knicut, J. E.; 33 North Road, Stokesley, MIDDLESBROUGH, Cleveland TS9 5DZ

Knox, Dr A. G.; Glebe House, 77 Leighton Road, wincrave, Bucks HP22 4PA

Koike, SHIGETO: 1523, Honjo, Niigata- shi, NIIGATA PREFECTURE, 950 Japan

KRAMER, D.; 7 Little Headlands, Putnoe, BEDFoRD MK14 8JT

1989
1986
1985
1989
1985
1974

vill

Lack, Dr P. C.; c/o B.T.0., The Nunnery, Nunnery Place, THETFORD, Norfolk [P24 2PU
Larnc, R. M.; 87 Johnston Gardens East, Peterculter, ABERDEEN AB1 OLA

Lampert, F. R.; c/o 15 Bramble Rise, Westdene, BRIGHTON, Sussex BN1 5GE

LAURENCE OF Mar, Lt-Cdr.; 30 Horton Downs, Downswood, MAIDSTONE ME15 8TN

Lawson, I. B.; 20 Glen Walk, 12 Sugar Farm Trail, Sunningdale, pURBAN 4051, South Africa
Layton, A. W.; 95 Manning Road, wooLLaHra, NSW 2025, Australia

1959-74, 1986 Lees-SmirTH, D. 'T.; 134 The Avenue, Starbeck, HARROGATE, N. Yorks HG1 4QF

1975
1985
1988
1991

LEvEQUE, R.; Swiss Ornithological Institute library, CH 6204, sempacu, Switzerland
Lewis, I. T.; Gables, Fordcombe, Nr TUNBRIDGE WELLS, Kent TN3 ORY

Lim, K.; 177 Jalan Loyang Besar, Singapore 1750

LinpsB.ap, O.; Skaldevagen 58, S-35239 vaxyjo, Sweden

1968-71, 1989 Linpsay, J. D.; 17¢c Walbrook Avenue, Springfield, MILTON KEYNES, Bucks MK6 3JB

1993
1985
1992
1982

Linpsay, Dr N. J.; 13 Dove St, Saltaire Village, sHipLEY, W. Yorks BD18 3EY
Lister, S. M.; 31 Lisle Street, LOUGHBOROUGH, Leics LE11 0AY

Litt.e, B.; 31 Craigbeath Court, COWDENBEATH, Fife KY4 9BZ

LITTLEMORE, F. P.; Plemstall, 264 Dunchurch Road, ruGBy, Warwicks CV22 6HX

1951-55, 1977 LiversipGE, Dr R.; 92 Central Road, KIMBERLEY, Cape Province 8301, South Africa

1979
1986
1985
1992
1981

1993

1973
1991

Lioyp, Capt. G. C., C.B.E., R.N.; Lanterns, Buckmore Avenue, PETERSFIELD, Hants GU32 2EF

Loyp, J. V.; Cynghordy, LLANDOVERY, Dyfed SA20 OLN

Lossy, G.; Turnersstraat 42, 2020 ANTWERP, Belgium

LouetreE, M.; Achterstr 109, 3080 TERVUREN, Belgium

Lovejoy, Dr T. E.; Asst. Secretary for External Affairs, Smithsonian Institution, SI-317, 1000 Jefferson
Drive SW, wasHINGTON DC 20560, USA

Lygs, J. S.; 4 Delves Close, RINGMER, E. Sussex BN8 5JW

McAnprew, R. T.; 5 Thornhill Gardens, HARTLEPOOL, Cleveland TS26 OHY
McCancu, N. V.; Calf of Man Bird Observatory, c/o J Clague Kionslieau, Plantation Road, porRT ST MARY,
Isle of Man

1991, 1993 McCarthy, J. E.; 10 Beech Grove, CHEPSTOW, Gwent NP6 5BD

1944

1991
1988
1978
1981
1992
1992
1974
1992
1981
1986
1989
1970
1988
1957
1992
1985
1985
1983
1982
1987
1988
1986
1989
1964
1993
1989
1987
1982
1979
1981
1990
1980
1980
1986

1991
1991
1986
1986
1980
1988
1946

1988
1992
1978
1985

1989
1990
1972
1986

McCuttocn, The Rey. G. K., O.B.E.; 5 Roy Road, NorTHWoop, Middx HA6 1EQ (Committee 1981-1983,

Vice-Chairman 1983-1986, Chairman 1986-1989) (Hon. Life Member)

McGowan, Dr K. J.; Ecology and Systematics, Corson Hall, Cornell University, rruaca, NY 14853, USA

McGowan, P.; Biology Dept, The Open University, Walton Hall, MILTON KEYNES MK7 6AA

AcKean, J. L.; 955 Escalon Avenue, Apt 812, SUNNYVALE, CA 94086, USA

McLaueu.in, T’. J.; Lisnacarrig, Brighton Road, roxrock, Co. Dublin, Eire

McNames, I.; West Lodge, Puddington, South Wirral, Cheshire L64 5ST

McNett, A. H.; Head Gardener’s Cottage, Castle Gardens, ALNwick, Northumberland NE66 1PH

MeNer, Dr D. A. C. ; 175 Byron Road, LouGHBOROUGH, Leics LE11 0JN

McPuHEti, B. M.; 3711 McKinley St NW, wasHINGTON bc 20015, USA

Mapeg, S. C.; 2 Church Row, Sheviock, TORPOINT, Cornwall PL11 3EH

Main, J. S.; 67 Farm Fields, SANDERSTEAD, Surrey CR2 OHR

Matcoim, N. S.; 439 Banbury Road, oxrorp, OX2 8ED

Mann, Dr C. F.; 123 Hartswood Road, LONDON W12 9NG (Committee 1977-1981)

MANSFIELD, R. C.; ‘‘Birdwood’’, 15c Lyles Road, Cottenham, CAMBRIDGE CB4 4QR

MarcuHant, S.; Box 123, Moruya, NSW 2537, Australia

Marr, B. A. E.; 17 Roundhouse Drive, West Perry, HUNTINGDON, Cambs PE18 0DJ

Martin, J. W. P.; 54 Wolsey Road, EAST MOLESEY, Surrey KT'8 9EW

Martin, Dr M. R.; 35 Auburn Road, Hawthorne, MELBOURNE, Victoria 3122, Australia

Martins, R. P.; 6 Connaught Road, Norwicu, Norfolk NR2 3BP

Mason, I. J.; CSIRO Div. of Wildlife Research, PO Box 84, LYNEHAM, ACT 2602, Australia

Mason, V.; Interhash 88, PO Box 400, DENPASAR 80001, BALI, Indonesia

Massa, Bruno; Via Archirafi 18, Instituto di Zoologia, 90123 PALERMO, Italy

Massey, K. G.; 4 Hall Terrace, Great Sankey, WARRINGTON, Cheshire WA5 3EZ

Massie, D. B.; 43 Hazel Road, Purley Beeches, READING, Berks RG8 8HR

Meap, C. J.; c/o BTO., The Nunnery, Nunnery Place, THETFORD, Norfolk IP24 2PU (Committee 1971-1975 )

Meap, Ms C.; 65 Terrington Hill, MaRLow, Bucks SL7 2RE

Meapows, B. S.; 9 Old Hall Lane, waLTON ON THE NAZE, Essex CO14 8LE

MEeEpDLanp, R. D.; PO Box 30370, LILONGE 3, Malawi

Mepway, D. G.; PO Box 476, NEW PLYMOUTH, New Zealand

Meek, E. R.; Smyril, Stenness, STROMNESS, Orkney

MeetH, P.; Bramenlaan 5, 2116 TR BENTVELD, Netherlands

MEININGER, P. L.; Belfort 7, 4336 JK MIDDLEBURG, Netherlands

Mertprum, Dr J. A. K.; Heath House, 1 Millgate, Lisvane, carpIFF CF4 5TY

MELVILLE, D. S.; c/o WWF (Hong Kong), GPO Box 12721, Hong Kong

MEREDITH-MIDDLETON, Miss J.; Anatomy Dept, University College of London, Gower St, LONDON

WCIE 6BT

MerysurG, Dr B. U.; Herbetstrasse 14, D14193 BERLIN, Germany

Micaui, Dr G.; Via Savona 71 mitan MIJ-20144, Italy

Mites, D. T.; ‘‘Clareville’’, 24 Belmont Road, WESTGATE-ON-SEA, Kent CT8 8AX

Mitts, T. R.; 36 Chartfield Avenue, Putney, LONDON SW15 6HG

MiIsKELL, J.; CARE-Bangladesh, GPO Box 226, pHaka, Bangladesh

Mo tter, E.; Parkstr. 13, 32049 HERFOoRD, Germany

Monk, Dr J. F., D.M.; The Glebe Cottage, Goring, READING, Berks RG8 9AP (Vice -Chairman 1965-1968,

Chairman 1968-1991, Editor 1976-1991, Committee 1991—)

Montemacacior!, A.; Via Emilio de Cavalieri 12, 00198 Roma Italy

Montiegr, D. J.; Eyebrook, Oldfield Road, Bickley, BROMLEY, Kent BR1 2LF

Moors, A. G.; Braemar House, 38 Cotman Road, Thorpe Hamlet, NorwicH NR1 4AF

Moorg, Mrs A. M.; 1 Uppingham Road, oakHaM, Rutland LE15 6JB (Committee 1987-1989, Hon. Secretary
1989-)

More, Dr G.; Route de Sallenelles, Bréville-les-Monts, F 14860 RANVILLE, France

Moret, Dr Marie-Yvonne; Route de Sallenelles, Bréville-les-Monts, F 14860 RANVILLE, France

Morgan, P. J.; Zoology Dept, National Museum of Wales, Cathays Park, carpirF CF1 3NP

Moraean, R. G.; 13 Cloncurry St, LONDON SW6 6DR

1989
1989
1951
1983
1986
1990
1989

1986
1987
1986
1986
1974
1983
1979

1979
1986
1989
1973

1970
1989
1982
1992

1986
1977

1971
1993
1966
1957
1991
1963

1989
1979
1988
1989
1982
1978
1957
1982
1989
1968
1981
1978
19389
1992

1979
1981
1982
19389

1982

1987
19386
1989
1981
1977
1981

1978
1976
1987
1987
1982
1989
1987

1991
1982
1993
1989
1989
1993
1992
1991
1962

1X

Morrow, R.; 58 Mutch Avenue, KYEEMAGH, NSW 2216, Australia

Morris, W.; 8 Hughes St, Penygraig, RHONDDA, Mid Glamorgan , CF40 1LX
Mountrort, G. R., O.B.E.; 8 Park Manor, St Aldhelms Road, poote, Dorset BH13 6BS
Moyer, D. C.; PO Box 934, irINGA, Tanzania

Muier, Mrs M. N.; Lovedays Mill, parnswick, Glos GL6 6SH

MU ter, H. H.; Breitenfelder Str 46, D-2000 HamMBuURG 20, Germany

Muscrove, N. J.; +1 Emery Close, WALSALL, West Midlands WS1 3AC

Nasu, J. W.; 13 Farm Hill, BRIGHTON, Sussex BN2 6BG

Nattress, B.; 25 West Lea Drive, West Ardsley, WAKEFIELD, W. Yorks WF3 1DH

NEWLAND, R. A.; 93 Arne Avenue, Parkstone, POOLE, Dorset BH12 4DP

Nicuots, Dr T. D.; University Medical Center, 5620 Greenbriar Suite 103, Houston, TX 77005, USA
Nicotson, M. P.; The Hilton National, Walcot Street, BATH, Avon BA1 5BJ

Niko aus, G.; Bosenbuettel 4, 2859 spreKa, Germany

NosLE-ROLLIn, C.; Greystones, Glanton, ALNWICK, Northumberland NE66 4AH

Osa, Dr T.; Nat. Hist. Mus. & Inst., 955-2 Aoba-Cho, cHr1BA 280, Japan

Oxp, A. B.; ‘‘Kalinka’’, Flimby Brow, Flimby, MaRyporT, Cumbria CA15y 8TD

Ouroso, G.; Le Grand Faubourg, F26230, GRIGNAN, France

Ouiver, P. J; The Briar Patch, Trevereux Hill, Limpsfield Chart, oxTED, Surrey RH8 0TL (Committee
1978-1979)

Otson, Dr S. L.; Wolfson College, Linton Road, oxForp OX2 6UD

Onrusia-BaTicon, A.; C/Francisco Suarez 2-C 2°D, 47006, vALLADOLID, Spain

Oren, Dr D. C.; Dept Zoologica, Museu Goeldi, Caixa Postal 399, Belem, para, CEP 66040, Brazil

Oyter, Sara J.; 43 East Summer St, Apt B, BANGOR, Maine 04401, USA

PAtsson, P.; Carlandersplatsen 4, S 41255, GOTHENBURG, Sweden

ParkER, J. G.; Clavering House, Foulden Road, Oxborough, kINGs LYN, Norfolk PE33 9BL (Committee
1979-1983)

Parkes, Dr K. C.; Carnegie Museum, 4400 Forbes Avenue, PITTSBURG, PA 15213, USA

Patrick, C.; Junior Rates Mess, HMS Endurance, BFPO 279

Payne, Dr R. B.; Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, ANN ARBOR, MI 48109, USA

Paynter, Dr R. A., Jnr; Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, CAMBRIDGE, MA 02138, USA

PeakaLL, Dr D. B.; 17 St Mary’s Road, Wimbledon, LONDON SW19 7BZ

Peat, R. E. F.; 2 Chestnut Lane, sEvENoAKS, Kent TN133AR (Committee 1969-1971, Hon. Secretary
1971-1989, Chairman 1989-1993, Committee 1993-)

Peart, D. E. M.; 35 Salisbury Road, Wilton, saLisBury, Wilts SP2 ODT

PecKkover, W. S., O.B.E.; 14 Balanda Street, JINDALEE, Queensland 4074, Australia

Penry, Dr E. H.; PO Box 138, orKNEy, Transvaal 2620, South Africa

PERRON, R.; 114 Park Lane East, REIGATE, Surrey RH2 8LW

PeTersON, A.; Natturufraedistofnun Islands, PO Box 5320, REYKJAVIK 125, Iceland

Pettet, Prof. A., Ph.D.; Uplands, The Avenue, Kingsdown, DEAL, Kent CT14 8DU

Puitiips, Dr A. R.; Reforma 825 A, Col. Chapultepac, San Nicolas de los Garza, NEUVO LEON, 66450 Mexico

PICKERING, R. H.; 27 Broomicknowe Park, BONNyRIGG, Midlothian EH19 2JB

Piper, S. E.; 2 Canal Drive, WESTVILLE, 3630 Natal, South Africa

PLENGE, M. A.; c/o Logistics Services, Inc., 1612 NW 84th Av., mram1, Florida 3312-1032, USA

Pomeroy, Dr D. E.; Resource Centre, Muienr, PO Box 7298, KAMPALA, Uganda

Poyser, T.; Town Head House, Calton, wATERHOUSES, Staffs ST10 3JQ

Prats Trntpap, P.; Cami de Rafalat 59, Casats de Trebeluger, MENORCA, Spain

Praz, J-C.; Conservateur, Musée Cantonal d’Histoire Naturelle, Case Postale 2160, 42 Av. de la Gare, 1950
SION, Switzerland

Price, R. C.; 3 Ashchurch Park Villas, LONDON W12 9SP

Prince, P. A.; c/o British Antarctic Survey, Madingley Road, campripce CB3 0ET

PRITCHETT, R. S.; First Floor Flat, 81 Winchester Street, LONDON SW1U 4NU

Prys-JoNes, Dr R. P.; Sub-Dept of Ornithology, British Museum (Natural History), TRING, Herts HP23 6AP

Quay, Dr W. B.; BioResearch Laboratory, Rtl Box 327, NEw BLOOMFIELD, MO 65063-9719, USA

Rag, M. C.; Roydon Hall, Roydon, KINGs LYNN, Norfolk PE32 1AR

Rajykowsk1, Dr K. M.; 14 rue des Poissons, F 93600, AaULNAY-SOUS-BOIS, France

RANDALL, A.; 13 Church Road, Cowley, uxBripGE, Middlesex UB8 3NB

Rasmussen, S. H.; Bakkehaven 18, DK 4180 sors, Denmark

Raynor, E. M.; Priorsmead, 15 Nash Meadow, soUTH WARNBOROUGH, Hants RG25 1RJ

RepFERN, C. P. F., Ph.D.; Dept of Dermatology, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, RVI,
NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE NE1 4CP

REDMAN, N. J.; 74 Chatburn Road, CLITHEROE, Lancs BB7 2AT

RepMaN, P. S.; 20 rue Dauphine, F 75006, paris, France

Reep, J. M.; 21 Hardings, Panshanger, WELWYN GARDEN city, Herts AL7 2EQ

Reep, R. W.; 48 Alister Street, sHORTLAND, NSW 2307, Australia

Reiw, Dr J. B.; Temple Crescent, craiL, Fife KY10 3RS

RicHaRpson, J. E.; Hazelbrow, Rad Lane, Peaslake, GUILDFORD, Surrey GU5 9PB

Rip.ey, Dr S. D.; Museum of Natural History, Room 336, Smithsonian Institution, WASHINGTON pc 20560,
USA

Ritcuie, Dr. D.; Seaton House, Kings Ripton, HUNTINGDON, Cambs PE17 2NJ

Roperts, T. J.; Cae Gors, Rhoscefnhir, PENTRAETH, Anglesey LL75 8YU

Ropertson, A. L. H.; 2 St Georges Terrace, Blockley, MORETON IN MARSH, Glos GL56 9BN

RosertTson, I. S.; 1 Central Avenue, CLITHEROE, Lancs BB7 2PZ

Rogertson, K. W.; 553 North Road, DARLINGTON DL1 3AB

Roginson, N. E.; 15/17 Prospect Street, Buttershaw, BRADFORD BD6 2DY

Ropricugs, M.; EGI Dept of Zoology, South Parks Road, oxrorp OX1 3PS

Rour, W. F.; Silcherweg 13, D 55063 Mainz, Germany

Romer, M. L. R.; Gillingshill, Arkesden Road, Clavering, SAFFRON WALDEN, Essex CB1140U (Committee
1964-1968)

1986
1978
1984

1986
1986
1987
1972
1982
1993

1981
1989
1954
1992
1986
1987
1987
1986
1974
1986
1984

1993
1989
1984
1961
1986
1968
1979
1979
1985
1989
1979
1991
1985

1987

1984
1993
1970
1988
1992
1991
1973
1981
1992
1980

1977
1981
1981
1980
1980
1957
1988
1979
1991
1990
1989
1992

1971
1983

1989
1988

1987
1977

1986
1991
1993
1988

1990
1961
1993
1985
1956

Xx

RoskarrT, Dr E.; Kangshaugvegen 12, N 7560 vikHAMAR, Norway

Ross, N.; 71 Buckingham Road, wiLtmsLow, Cheshire SK9 5LA

Rounp, P. D.; Centre for Conservation, Mahidol University (Dept of Biology), Rama VI Road, BANGKOK
10400, Thailand

Rowsury, TI’. J.; 25 Priestley Drive, Larkfield, MaipsTonr, Kent ME20 6TX

Rowe, G. Z.; 51 Grange Avenue, Leagrave, LUTON, Beds LU4 9AS

Row ey, I. C. R.; CSIRO Locked Bag 4, PO MipLANbD, Western Australia 6056, Australia

RupcE, P.; National Hospital for Nervous Diseases, Queen Square, LONDON, WCIN 3RG

Rumsey, S. J. R.; Elms Farm, Pett Lane, Icklesham, WINCHELSEA, E. Sussex N36 4AH

Rya.i, Dr C.; Environmental Technology, Farnborough College, Boundary Road, FARNBOROUGH, Hants
GU14 6SB

Saari, Dr C. L. V.; Aasla, SF 21150 rooia, Finland

SaETHER, S. A.; Dept of Zoology, University of Trondheim, N-7055 praGvoLL, Norway

Sace, B. L.; Waveney House, 41 Waveney Close, WELLS-NEXT-THE-SEA, Norfolk NR23 1HU

SaLaman, P. G. W.; 28 Oakway, W. Wimbledon, LONDON SW20 9JE

Sat, D.; 6 Kickwick Avenue, HARPENDEN, Herts AL5 2QL

SamwaLp, O.; Muhlbreitenstrasse 61, A 8280 FURTENFELD, Austria

Sassoon, Miss S.; Flat 1, 21 Upper Phillimore Gardens, LONDON, W8 7HF

Saw eg, V. J.; Rose Cottage, Home Farm, Rusthall, TUNBRIDGE WELLS, Kent TN4 8TT

Sayers, B. C.; 164 Chelmer Road, CHELMSFORD, Essex CM2 6AB

SCHARFENBERG, C. D.; Rebaek Soepark 3, 1505, DK 2650 Hyipovre, Denmark

SCHUCHMANN, Dr K-L.; Zoologisches Forschungsinstitut u Museum Alexander Koenig, Audenauerallee
150-164, 5300 BoNN 1, Germany

Scuutz, A.; PO Box 540, PoRT ELIZABETH 6000, South Africa

ScuuzE-HaceEn, K.; Bergerstr. 163, D 41068 MUNCHENGLADBACH, Germany

ScuwTT, R.; Roseggerstr. 35, D 12059 BERLIN, Germany

Scott, R. E.; 8 Woodlands, Priory Hill, st NEots, Huntingdon, Cambs PE19 1UE

SELF, Dr R.; 21 Firs Avenue, LONDON N10 3LY

SELL, P. D.; Botany School, Downing Street, CAMBRIDGE CB2 3EA

SELLAR, P. J.; 89 Riddlesdown Road, PURLEY, Surrey CR8 1DH

SELLAR, 'T’. J., Ph.D.; Zoology & Applied Entomology Dept., Imperial College, LONDON SW7 2AZ

SHARLAND, R. E., F.C.A.; 1 Fisher’s Heron, East Mills, FORDINGBRIDGE, Hants SP6 2JR

SuHarp, B. J.; 1 Meadow Close, Marshalswick, sT ALBANS, Herts AL4 9TG

SHarRROCK, Dr J. T. R.; Fountains, Park Lane, Blunham, BEpForRD MK 44 3NJ

SuHaw, M. B.; 6 The Spinney, Killingworth Village, NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, NE12 0BG

SHELDON, F. H.; Museum of Natural Sciences, 119 Foster Hall, Louisiana State University, BATON ROUGE,
LA 70863, USA

Suicera, Y.; Bird Migration Research Center, Yamashina Institute for Ornithology, Konoyama, Abiko,
cHIBA 270-11, Japan

Sureinal, H.; PO Box 4168, ErLat 88102, Israel

Simms, C.; Cross-fell Cottage, Gatehead, Garrigill, aston, Cumbria CA9 3EB

SKINNER, Prof. N. J., Ph.D.; 60 Gunton Drive, LowestTortT, Suffolk NR32 4QB

Strack, E.; Norwood, 30 Reid Park Road, Jesmond, NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE NE2 2ES

Smit, H.; Preludeweg 65, 1312 SN aLtMEkE, Netherlands

SmitnH, D. 'T.; 18 Edinburgh Place, Earls Avenue, FOLKESTONE, Kent CT'20 2HP

Smitn, G. A.; Green Acre, Great North Road, Haddon, PETERBOROUGH PE7 3T'N

SmitH, Dr N. G.; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Unit 0948, APO AA 0948, 34002-0948 USA

Situ, P. W.; PO Box 3170, FLoripa city, FL 33034, USA

SNELL, R. R.; National Museum of Natural Sciences, PO Box 3443, Station D, orrawa, Ontario, Canada
K1P 6T4

Snow, Dr D. W.; The Old Forge, Wingrave, AYLESBURY, Bucks HP22 4PD (Editor 1991-)

Somap1kartTA, Dr S.; Jalan Salak 12, BoGpoR 16151, Indonesia

Spaans, Dr A. L.; Sylvalaan 12, 6810 RB aRNHEM, Netherlands

Sparks, Mrs G. M. B.; The Old Vicarage, Compton Abdale, CHELTENHAM, Glos GL54 4DS

Strack, Dr C. G.; 7 Alderbrook Road, soLIHULL, W. Midlands B91 1NH

STAFFORD, J.; Westering, Moor Lane, BRIGHSTONE, Isle of Wight PO30 4DL

STANFIELD, Dr J. P.; 25 Brandling Place South, NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, NE24 RU

StaTHaM, S. A. H.; Woodcock Hill, Durrants Lane, BERKHAMSTED, Herts HP4 3TR (Committee 1983-1986 )

STENWIG, J. T.; Dept of Pathology, Akershus Central Hospital PB33, N-1474 NorDBYHAGEN, Norway

STEPHEN, J. A.; 27 New Street, WELLS, Somerset BAS 2LE

STEWART-Cox, Miss B.; Long Mead, Brixton Deverill, WARMINSTER, Wilts BA12 7EJ

Stites, F. G.; Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Univ. Nacional de Columbia, Apto 7495, BoGoTa pc,
Columbia

STJERNSTEDT, R.; PO Box 91, slavonca, Zambia

Stone, N. H. F.; 64 Trinity Road, Old Wolverton, MILTON KEYNES, Bucks MK125PB (Committee
1986-1990)

Stott, R. D. E.; 503 May Tower, 7 May Road, Hong Kong

SrraHL, Dr S. D.; Wildlife Conservation International, Bronx Zoological Park, 185th Street & Southern
Blvd, Bronx, NY 10460, USA

Strronacu, N. R. H.; Streamstown, wEesTPporT, Co. Mayo, Eire

Stuart, Dr S. N.; Species Survival Commission, IUCN, Avenue de Mont Blanc, CH 1196 GLanp,
Switzerland

SUMMERFIELD, Dr B. J.; 11a Avenue Gdns, MARGATE, Kent CT9 3BD

SuMMERS-SmITH, J. D.; Merlewood, The Avenue, GUISBOROUGH, Cleveland T'S14 8EE

SuppLe-Kane, K. W.; Castle Bellingham, Co. Louth, Eire

Swasn, A. R. H.; 1 Romans Gate, Pamber Heath, BAsINGsTOKE, Hants RG26 6EH

Tasot, G. J.; 58 Ash Close, SWAFFHAM, Norfolk PE37 7NH

Tatpot, KeLty, Miss C. E.; 22 St Philips Road, LErcEsTER, LE5 5TQ

Tan, T. S.; 4th Floor EDP Dept, Leisure Management BHD, 55100 kuaLa LUMPUR, Malaysia
Tanner, A. R.; 24 Eustace Road, East Ham, LONDON E6 3ND

Tarte, P.; Half Acre, Rooks Hill, RIckMANSWoRTH, Herts WD3 4H3 (Hon. Treasurer 1962-1974)

1985
1975

1976
1982
1979
1982
1979
1988
1981
1984
1985
1989
1988
1991
1959
1977
1985
1985
1989
1986
1970
1991
1986
1974

1975
1993

1982
1991

1934

1991
1981
1976

1979
1985
1986
1968
1969
1991
1975
1984
1989
1985
1989
1981
1986
1975
1990
1986
1985
1973
1988
1987
1991
1984
1989
1982
1987
1986
1993
1951
1988
1989
1992
1985
1985
1976
1987
1993

1976

1990
1985
1961

1937
1984
1983

XI

TaytLor, P. B., Dept of Zoology, University of Natal, PO Box 375, PIETERMARITZBURG 3200, South Africa

Terxerra, Prof. D. L. M.; Museu Nacional, Quinta da Boa Vista, Soa Cristovao, RIO DE JANEIRO, RJ CEP
20940, Brazil

Turpautt, J-C.; La Bergerie, 20253 PATRIMONIO, France

Turepe, Dr W.; An der Ronne 184, D-5 KoLN 40, Germany

Tuomas, Mrs B. T.; Waterfield, Route 1, Box 212c, CASTLETON, VA22716, USA

Tuomas, Dr D. H.; School of Biology, University of Wales at Cardiff, PO Box 915, carpirF CF1 3TL

THompson, K. V.; Primrose Bank, Gaggerhill Lane, Brighstone, Newport, Isle of Wight PO30 4DX

Tuompson, P.; Middlesex Polytechnic, Queensway, ENFIELD, Middx EN3 4SF

Tiwmis, W. H.; Curator, Lotherton Hall Bird Garden, Towton Road, Nr Abberford, LEEDs LS25 3EB

Topp, D.; Trezise, St Martin, HELSTON, Cornwall TR12 6EF

Topp, W. 1521 Missouri Apt 2, Houston, TX 77006-2525, USA

Tomuins, A. D.; 29 Gerard Road, Barnes, LONDON SW13 9RQ

Tosrain, O.; BP44, 97321 cavENNE Cedex, French Guiana

Toyng, E. P.; Dept of Biology, Imperial College, LONDON SW7 2BB

Traytor, Major M. A.; Birds Division, Field Museum of Natural History, cH1caco, IL 60605, USA

Tucker, J. J.; 13 Brook Road, PONTEsBURY, Shropshire SY4 30U

Tucker, N. A.; 8 Julius Road, Bishopston, BRistoL BS7 8EU

Tucker, W. T.; 61 Main St, kINGston, NH 03848-3209, USA

Turner, A.; 2 Valley Road, Heckenthorpe, SHEFFIELD $12 4LH

Turner, C. F.; Lakers, Church Road, St Johns, REDHILL, Surrey RH1 6QA

Turner, D. A.; PO Box 48019, NarroBI, Kenya

Tutak, H. T.; Hoensbroeckstraat 52, 3550 HEUSDEN-ZOLDER, Belgium

Tutt, D.; 21 Heron Close, Lower Halston, sITTINGBOURNE, Kent ME9 7EF

Ty er, Dr S. J.; Yew Tree Cottage, Lone Lane, PENALLT, Gwent NP5 4AJ

Urpan, Prof. E. K.; Dept of Biology, Augusta College, aucusta, GA 30910, USA
Urpla.es, C.; Ap.17 P-58-B(IA), E-21760 Matalascanas, HUELVA, Spain

van den Bere, A. B.; Duinlustparkweg 98, 2082 saNpDpPooRTE-zUID, Netherlands

VERHAAGH, M.; Staatliches Museum fur Naturkunde Karlsruhe, Postfach 6209, D-76042 KARLSRUHE,
Germany

VINCENT, Col. J., M.B-E.;42 Villiers Drive, Clarendon, PIETERMARITZBURG 3201, South Africa (Hon. Life
Member)

Viney, C. A.; 87 Mount Nicholson Gap, Stubbs Road, Hong Kong

VIoLaNnI, Dr C. G.; Via S. Vittore 38/A, 20123 mixan, Italy

Voous, Prof. K. H.; V D Duyn Van Masdamlaan 28, 1272 EM HUIZEN NH, Netherlands

Watker, R. L.; Mount Cottage, PANWICH, Derbyshire DCE6 1QJ

WaLt, J. W.; 19 Tisdale Road, scarspaLe, NY 10583-5613, USA

Watcms.ey, M. A.; Woodpeckers, Broughton, FORDINGBRIDGE, Hants SO20 8BD

Watsu, Dr J. F.; 80 Arundel Road, LyTHAM sT ANNES, Lancs FY8 1BN

Watters, M. P.; Sub-Dept of Ornithology, British Museum (Natural History), TRING, Herts HP23 6AP

Watters, R.; c/o 23 Windsor Park Road, HARLINGTON, Middx UB3 5HZ

WaruaM, Dr J.; 14 Konini Street, CHRISTCHURCH 4, New Zealand

Warr, Mrs F. E.; 6 Mansion Drive, TRING, Herts HP23 5BD

Warren, R. A.; 45 Arkwright Road, Irchester, WELLINGBOROUGH, Northants NN9 7EE

WanrrINeRr, R. E.; 9 Bucklands View, Nailsea, BRISTOL BS19 2TZ

Waters, Prof. W. E.; Orchards, Broxmore Park, Sherfield English, Nr Romsey, Hants SO51 6FT

Wart ine, Dick, Ph.D.; Box 2041, Government Buildings, suva, Fiji

Weesster, B. D.; 49 Broadlands, Brixworth, NORTHAMPTON NN6 9BH

WELLs, Dr D. R.; Dept of Zoology, University of Malaya, 59100 kuaLa LUMPUR, Malaysia

WENDEBY, J.; Banersgatan 14, S-41503, GoTHENBURG, Sweden

WESTOLL, J.; Dykeside, Longtown, CARLISLE, Cumbria CA6 5ND

WHEATLEY, J. J.; 6 Boxgrove Avenue, GUILDFORD, Surrey GU1 1XG

WHEELER, C. E. ; 3 Woodhurst Close, Cuxton, ROCHESTER, Kent (Committee 1975-1979)

WHEELER, Mrs G. F.; Pumulani, Otters Creek, ZEEKOEVLEI 7945, South Africa

WHEELER-HOLOHAN, B. J.; 38 Oregon Square, ORPINGTON, Kent BR6 8BQ

Waitt es, C. J.; 19 Sandygate Avenue, The Farthings, SHREwsBuURY, Shropshire

WiersMaA, L. J.; Singel 282, 3311 HK, porprecuT, Netherlands

WILKINSON, Sir Denys, F.R.S.; Gayles Orchard, Friston, EASTBOURNE, Sussex BN20 0BA

Wi kinson, Dr R.; 2 Weston Grove, UPTON-BY-CHESTER, Cheshire CH2 1QJ

WILKINSON, Sir WILLIAM; 119 Castelnau, Barnes, LONDON SW1 9EL

Wiuiams, Dr E. J.; 24 Birkett Drive, ULVERSTON, Cumbria LA12 9LS

Wittiams, I.; 20 Clos Glandwr, Faenor, DRENEWYDD, Powys SY16 1RF

WiuiaMs, J. G.; 14 Tyne Road, oakHam, Rutland LE15 6SJ

WIiiuiaMs, K. F.; 11 Gable Closes, DAVENTRY, Northants NN11 4EX

WILu1aAMs, R. G.; 2 Milwain Road, stRETFORD, Manchester M32 9BY

Witspon, H. M. V.; 79 Mill Rise, Westdene, BRIGHTON BN1 5GJ

Witson, H. E.; PO Box 10463, MARINE PARADE 4056, South Africa

Witson, Dr J. D.; c/o B.T.O., The Nunnery, Nunnery Place, THETFORD, Norfolk IP24 2PU

Wuzson, R. T.; Bartridge House, UMBERLEIGH, Devon EX7 9AS

WINFIELD, K. W.; 7 Burlington Road, skEGNESS, Lincs PE25 2EW

Wone, F. K-O.; Room 56B, Carnegie Court, Hillhead Hall, Don Street, University of Aberdeen, ABERDEEN
ABI 2WU

Woop, Dr J. B.; Ecology and Conservation Unit, Biology Dept, University College London, Gower Street,
LONDON WCIE 6BT

Woop, K. P.; Woodnorton, Stone Cross Road, MAYFIELD, E Sussex TN20 6EJ

Woop, V. J.; PO Box 401, patsy, Queensland 4405, Australia

Woopcock, M. W.; The Fives, Elderden Farm, Staplehurst, TONBRIDGE, Kent TN12 0RN (Hon. Secretary
1965-1969)

Woops, R. W.; 68 Aller Park Road, NEWTON aBBoT, Devon TW124NQ

Woopson, J. L.; 410 North 600 East, Locan, Utah 84321, USA

Wraicut, A. A.; 7 Fairhurst Drive, Parbold, wican, Lancs WN8 7DJ

X11

1993 Younc, Ms B. S.; c/o RSPB, The Lodge, sanpy, Beds SG19 2DL
1990 Younc, H. G.; Downstairs Flat, Stathyre, rue Piece de Mauger, st saviour, Jersey, Channel Islands

1988 ZieEGLER, A. P.; Titcombs, Sheep Street, BURFORD OX8 4LT

1963 ZIsWILeER, Prof. Dr V.; Zoological Museum of the University of Zurich, Kunstlergasse 16, CH 8006 zuricn,
Switzerland

1973 ZONFRILLO, B.; 28 Brodie Road, GLASGow G21 3SB

LIST OF AUTHORS AND CONTENTS

ALSTROM, P. & MILD, K. The taxonomic status of Anthus berthelotii....... 88
ALSTROM, P., RIPLEY, S. D. & RASMUSSEN, P. C. Re-evaluation of the
taxonomic status of Phylloscopus subaffinis arcanus .....06 000 ee 207

BEST, BiJ.,, CLARKE, C. T., CHECKER, M!; BROOM! A’ Le THEWEIS,
R. M., DUCKWORTH, W. & McNAB, A. Distributional records, natural
history notes and conservation of some poorly known birds from
southwestern Ecuador and northwestern Peru...............2..-2-00000- 108, 234

BLOCH, H. see RAHBEK, C.

BONILLA-RUZ, C. see CISNEROS-PALACIOS, E.

BONSER, R. H. C. & WALKER, C. A. Some notes on type material of moas
(Aves: Dinornithidae) ei Pe ine Ue Mean Bier ais ea ONS Dek AE EES SAR eA 257

BOOKS FRE CE TV ee oieiy ct rere Poche eoeere cite Shots eneeerrel eres Daa 64, 128, 192, 264

BROOM, A. L. see BEST, B. J.

BROWNING, M. R. Taxonomy of the blue-crested group of Cyanocitta stelleri

(Steller’s Jay) with a description of a new subspecies ................00005 34
BUDEN, D. W. Geographic variation in the Scaly-breasted Thrasher Margarops
fuscus with) descriptions: of three, new, subspecres ee ata. aa ui ang eraeene ete 75

CAPPARELLA, A. P. see VUILLEUMIER, F.

CAVALCANTI, R. B. & MARINI, M. A. Body masses of birds of the cerrado
region, Brazil Velo Bie nee paye cia a ayy leat: Se Aleyed i anise GE aa'5 yey Av nee eo ne aa 210

CHECKER, M. see BEST, B: J.

CHRISTIDIS, L. & SCHODDE, R. Sexual selection for novel partners: a
mechanism for accelerated morphological evolution in the birds-of-paradise

(Paradisacidae)2.).) cys PROM aay I OIC mrNy Taal Lene, ON ee CE aN 169
CISNEROS-PALACIOS, E. & BONILLA-RUZ, C. New distributional

information on Mexican Birds III. Northern Oaxaca ....)0.00.0.. 0. je ne ee 213
CLANCEY, P. A. The status of the Cisticola aberrans subspecies C. a. nuikae

Teyaries| 139 3.0) spieatega arta ihak Sau y MLAIUN Ogee nO LU ASR ZUR LAC Ac eM RL 18
—Subspeciation in the austral African Thick-billed Lark .......2....0...... 173
—The authorship of the name of the British race of the Chaffinch ........... 189

CLARKE, C. T. see BEST, B. J.
CLUB NOTICES

Accounts, at) AAGSIMEAN 81429 Siok MNS anaes Sinan PNT) LOR UIE OV ACEI SRT a 135
AnnualiGenerallleetima tS) 40913 Se om cereus tN bi ocanih MeWpli i A ned ae rere 129
Centenary Dinner held"on MOMMA 9 Dial cians Cte ee ere Hae Eh (Ns ee eae 3
Chairman’s)Address'\(Ri;E SFY Peal) on, 274293) Gehl aa ee 131
Meetings eye MNES Orr Se cuU AIA Re HiME UUTU MM Man APD iste ie SR Guan 7, 65, 129, 193

CROWE, T. M. Validation of some new proposed names for francolins
(Phasiamidae) ii ysis joc.) Hee Re aH ERD IIa Ny ERD A Ae 191

DE ALMEIDA, A. C. C. see TETXEIRA, D. M.

DICKERMAN, R. W. On the validity of Ceyx (Mytoceyx) lecontet ruficeps..... 255

DUCKWORTH, W. see BEST, B. J.

FJELDSA, J. Phrygilus coracinus Sclater, 1891 is a valid taxon .........-...44- 121

FREY, H. see HOUSTON, D. C.
GREGORY, P. A. & JOHNSTON, G. R. Birds of the cold tropics: Dokfuma

StarsMlountains: /NewinGiaimea yeu aterer ae lathe eee 4 ese ayes ea 139
HAFTORN, 8S. Willow warbler Phylloscopus trochilus imitating the song of the
Chittchati RM coll bitais sae aid saith) SIDI eR EE ES eae 216

HALL, A. see HOUSTON, D. C.
HERROELEN, P. see LOUETTE, M.
HOUSTON, D. C., HALL, A. & FREY, H. The characteristics of the cosmetic
soils used by Bearded Vultures Gypaetus barbatus .............002.05.0200- 260
HOWARD, P. see KITCHENER, A. C.

X11

HOWELL, S. N. G. A taxonomic review of the Green-fronted Hummingbird ..

JOHNSTON, G. R. see GREGORY, P. A.

KITCHENER, A. C., MACDONALD, A. A. & HOWARD, P. First record of
the Blue Crowned Pigeon Goura cristata on Seram..........0.0000-002005-

LAZO, I. see VUILLEUMIER, F.

LOUETTE, M. & HERROELEN, P. Status of migratory Cuculus cuckoos in
LRT Clk Akt TRE VRONS OSU ay LP EL OCR MIS IRR ANL ESTERL UV RE ae A YORN aR EN sa stele

LUIGI, G. see TEIXEIRA, D. M.

MACDONALD, A. A. see KITCHENER, A. C.

MecNAB, A. see BEST, B. J.

MARINI, M. A. see CAVALCANTIT, R. B.

MASSA, B. see VIOLANI, C. G.

MILD, K. see ALSTROM, P.

MOORE, A. Breeding ‘of the lavender Firefinch’ . 24.2. ./22305 0020 0.0000 0000000.

ONIKI, Y. see WILLIS, E. O.

OTOCH, R. see TEIXEIRA, D. M.

OTTOSSON, U. An observation of Bateleur Tevathopius ecaudatus in northern
Mumisia sic 241. DER os Go) 5 ROBIN APG eel ed oh oy he ots pane pts bythe Mt gl

PANZA, R. K. see PARKES, K. C.

PARKES, K. C. The name of the Ecuadorean subspecies of the Chestnut-collared

SwallowsHorundobrufocollarista ei el. Vel yet Sed LOR ABUL) oes

Distributional errors in “‘The Birds of La Plata Island, Ecuador’’

(Ortiz-Grespovs& Aenew 1992) ose oe ek a egaley eee se A ER ROI LGR

PARKES, K. C. & PANZA, R. K. A new Amazonian subspecies of the
Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher Myiobius (Terenotriccus) erythrurus ........0..0.4.

PEARMAN, M. Some range extensions and five species new to Colombia, with
notes on some ‘scarce or little knowmn'species,. «4... .)40 46 44h) OEMS CL

PETERSON; A.'T. Species’status’ of Geotrygon carrtkeri ........50000 8. ONS).

POULSEN, M. K. see RAHBEK, C.

RAHBEK, C., BLOCH, H., POULSEN, M. K. & RASMUSSEN, J. F. Avian
body iweightsifromysouthern Ecuador 2.0.0... he ethene pee ett Ar

RAPOSO, M. A. see TEIXEIRA, D. M.

RASMUSSEN, J. F. see RAHBEK, C.

RASMUSSEN, P. C. see ALSTROM, P.

RIDGELY, R. S. see ROBBINS, M. B.

RIPLEY, S. D. see ALSTROM, P.

ROBBINS, M. B. & RIDGELY, R. S. A new name for Myrmeciza immaculata
berlepschini(Frormicaritdae) as: PIR Gen. 2 5 Pacts leas ey si OR ARNOLD sea a tiras

SAINI, H. K. Maggots in the diet of the Collared Dove........... 0.000000 04

SCHODDE, R. Geographic forms of the Regent Parrot Polytelis anthopeplus
(Igear)sand their typeilocalatresth m5 5). 005 us alas hie es Ra ee pe EN

—Stabilization of the scientific name for the White-browed Treecreeper

(Glimaeteridae) bynectypiticationt i. 62.5 24) 2 aay SN EO BSG EN AES

See CHRISTIDIS, L.

SUMMERS-SMITH, J. D. New distributional records for House Sparrow
IPASSETAOIMESELCTESY 75.5.5 PATA RNOIN, 5S Nac oo and is yh REL BONES ENS LOUD Es

TEIXEIRA, D. M., OTOCH, R., LUIGI, G., RAPOSO, M. A. & DE
ALMEIDA, A. C. C. Notes on some birds of northeastern Brazil (5) ......

THEWLIS, R. M. see BEST, B. J.

THOMAS, B. T. Birds of a northern Venezuelan secondary-scrub habitat......

VALLE, M. de P. see YAMASHITA, C.

VIOLANI, C. G. & MASSA, B. Extinction of the Andalusian Hemipode Turnix
s. sylvatica (Desf.) in the Mediterranean region .............0 00000000000.

VUILLEUMIER, F. Notes on birds observed in beech (Fagus) forests in the
Maoershan Natural Reserve, Guangxi Autonomous Region, China.........

VUILLEUMIER, F., CAPPARELLA, A. P. & LAZO, I. Two notable bird
records fromp@hileaniPatagoniat Wye. i eee a Na Ve RONDE Gee Biers ete

WALKER, C. A. see BONSER, R. H. C.

WALTERS, M. On the status of the Christmas Island sandpiper Aechmorhynchus
CANECIL AUS Bees 5. SRE PEAT EIR ad see 2225) eee IT eT er ULL eer Papeete UE 8 Fb

WALTERS, R. Some records of birds from Belize, Central America, including
theeeghrstirecOnds sah. SAR Mae core onc Stet eet tea ae aa nec iy DING Pale

179

AD

147

191

62

119
127
21
66
166

103

190
263

230

XIV

WHITTAKER, A. Notes on the behaviour of the Crimson Fruitcrow
Haematoderus militaris near Manaus, Brazil, with the first nesting record for
this Species sseik, 4. HOR AWIENEE oF. fA OL PAYWITHOES Ae ee ee

WILLIS, E. O. & ONIKI, Y. New and reconfirmed birds from the state of Sao

Paulo, Brazil, with notes on disappearing species... .../.........02+00-0--

On a Phoebetria specimen from southern Brazil..................2.200-8-

WILME, L. A recent record of the Madagascar Pochard Aythya innotata in Lake
Alaotra, Madagascar... 2.385 lle. ielcce onus als «Ma ee ee ee eee

WOODS, R. W. Cobb’s Wren Troglodytes (aedon) cobbi of the Falkland Islands.

YAMASHITA, C. & VALLE, M. de P. On the linkage between Anodorhynchus
macaws and palm nuts, and the extinction of the Glaucous Macaw.........

INDEX TO SCIENTIFIC NAMES
(Compiled by Mary N. Muller)

All generic and specific names (of birds only) are indexed. New subspecific names are indexed

in bold print under generic, specific and subspecific names.

abeillei, Arremon 117, 234, 255 — , Xiphocolaptes 211
aberrans, Cisticola 18-20 albigularis, Laterallus 247

— , Drymoica 20 albilatera, Diglossa 107, 253
Acanthiza murina 140 albipectus, Pyrrhura 104—5
acanthizoides, Cettia 161 albipennis, Penelope 242
Accipiter bicolor 247 albitarsus, Ciccaba 68

— ventralis 247 albiventer, Tachycineta 119-20
Acrocephalus concinens 161 albiventris, Margarops 76-7
Actitis macularia 248 albobrunneus, Campylorhynchus 74
acutipennis, Chordeiles 248 albogriseus, Pachyramphus 252
Adelomyia melanogenys 105, 249 albogularis, Otus 248
Aechmorhynchus cancellatus 97-102 — , Tyrannus 211

— parvirostris 101-2 albonotatus, Buteo 67, 247
aedon, Troglodytes 16, 195, 252 albus, Casmerodius 247
Aegotheles archboldi 143 Alcippe chrysotis 160, 162, 164
aequatorialis, Hirundo 119-20 — cinereiceps 160, 162, 164
aequinoctialis, Geothlypis 16, 253 Allenia 77, 82
aequitorialis, Hirundo 119-20 — montana 82
Aeronautes montivagus 249 Amazilia amazilia 105, 249
aestiva, Amazona 31 — beryllina 215
Aethopyga gouldiae 163 — cyanocephala 215
affinis, Climacteris 230-2 — fimbriata 14

— , Lepidocolaptes 105, 250 — rosenbergi 68

— , Phylloscopus 207-8 — rutila 179
agilis, Oporornis 16 — tobaci 14
Aglaiocercus kingi 105, 249 — tzacatl 14, 249
Aimophila stolzmanni 255 — violiceps 179-86, 214-5
Alauda crassirostris 175 — viridifrons 179-87

— miagnirostris 175 Amazilia viridifrons rowleyi subsp.

— rostro-crassa 175 nov. 181-86
alaudinus, Phrygilus 254 Amazona aestiva 31
alba, Gygis 100 — amazonica 210

— , Motacilla 157 — brasiliensis 31, 33

— , Tyto 116, 248 — xanthops 31
albescens, Certhilauda 174 amazonica, Amazona 210

— , Synallaxis 15 Amblycercus holosericeus 255
albicans, Gypaetus 260 Amblyramphus holosericeus 30
albicaudatus, Buteo 13 americana, Chloroceryle 215, 249
albiceps, Atlapetes 254 — , Sporophila 254

— , Elaenia 251 americanus, Coccyzus 14, 49
albicollis, Nyctidromus 14, 210, 248 — , Daptrius 30

— , Saltator 17, 254 amethysticollis, Heliangelus 105

— , Turdus 211 amethystinus, Lampornis 215

Ammodramus savannarum 215

Ampelioides tschudii 252

Ampelion rubrocristatus 105, 252

Ababacerthia variegaticeps 74, 250

anabatinus, Thamnistes 105, 250

Anairetes nigrocristatus 111, 236, 240, 251

parulus 106, 251

reguloides 236

analis, Catamenia 254

, Iridosornis 107

Anas discors 49

georgica 49

Andigena laminirostris 72

angolensis, Oryzoborus 17, 32, 107, 212,
254

angustifrons, Psarocolius 255

angustirostris, Lepidocolaptes 211

ani, Crotophaga 14, 248

Anisognathus flavinucha 253

igniventris 107

lacrymosus 107

notabilis 238, 253

Anodorhynchus spp. 53-9

cinereus 54

glaucus 53-9

hyacinthinus 53-9

leari 53-9

Anous stolidus 101

antarcticus, Cinclodes 198

anthopeplus, Palaeornis 45-6

, Polytelis 44-6

anthopeplus monarchoides, Polytelis
subsp. nov. 46

Anthracothorax nigricollis 14

A EXUUS berthelotii 88—92

campestris 88—92

godlewskii 88

gustavi 91

gutturalis 140

hodgsoni 91

nattereri 32

petrosus 88-91

pratensis 88-9

richardi 88

rubescens 88

similis 88—92

spinoletta 89-91

sylvanus 88, 157

trivialis 88, ‘01, 223

Antilophia galeata 210-1

antisiensis, Cranioleuca 105, 250

Apalis rufogularis 2

apicalis, Crateropus 76

, Turdus 76

apivorus, Pernis 63

Aquila nipalensis 63

pomarina 63

aquila, Eutoxeres 105, 249

Ara ararauna 31, 55

auricollis 55

chloroptera 30, 55

macao 55

XV

manilata 24, 55, 210

maracana 55

nobilis 55

rubrogenys 55

severa 55

Atainides axillaris 113, 247

cajanea 13, 210

mangle 28

ararauna, Ara 31,55

Aratinga aurea 210

auricapilla 31, 210

erythrogenys 114—5, 248

leucophthalmus 210

pertinax 14

arcanus, Phylloscopus subaffinis 207-8

archiboldi, Aegotheles 143

acruata, Pipreola 105

Ardea cocoi 246

ardesiaca, Sporophila 27, 32-3

arenarum, Sublegatus 15

arfaki, Oreopsittacus 140

Arremon abeillei 117, 234, 255

aurantiirostris 107, 255

flavirostris 212

schlegeli 17

taciturnus 212

Arremonops conirostris 17, 255

arthus, Tangara 253

asiatica, Zenaida 214

Asio flammeus 201

stygius 116, 248

assimilus, Tolmomyias 106

, Turdus 215

Astrapia 171

Atalotriccus pilaris 15

atlanticus, Margarops fuscus subsp.
nov. 82-3

Atlantisia rogersi 2

Atlapetes albiceps 254

brunneinucha 107, 168, 215

leucopterus 104, 107, 254

pallidiceps 242

pallidinucha 107

rufinucha 107, 254

seebohmi 254

semirufus 17

tricolor 254

torquatus 107, 254

atratus, Coragyps 13, 214, 247

atriceps, Phrygilus 125

atripennis, Saltator 254

atropileus, Hemispingus 107

Attila citriniventris 71

torridus 237-8, 251

augusti, Phaethornis 14

Aulacorhynchus derbianus 105

haematopygius 249

aura, Cathartes 13, 201, 247

aurantiifrons, Hylophilus 16

aurantiirostris, Arremon 107, 255

, Catharus 16

, Saltator 240

aurantioatrocristatus, Empidonomus 211
aurea, Aratinga 210
auricapilla, Aratinga 31, 210
auricapillus, Icterus 17
auriceps, Pharomachrus 249
auricollis, Ara 55

auriculata, Zenaida 248
aurifrons, Myospiza 107
Automolus ruficollis 117-8
axillaris, Aramides 113, 247
Aythya innotata 188

azarae, Synallaxis 105, 250

badius, Molothrus 26
bairdiu, Calidris 67-8

— , Myiodynastes 252
Bangsia melanochlamys 74
barbata, Penelope 113, 247
barbatus, Gypaetus 260-2
Barnardius zonarius 46
barroti, Heliothryx 249
Baryphthengus martii 249

— ruficapillus 211
Basileuterus belli 215

— cinereicollis 73

— coronatus 106

— culicivorus 16

— flaveolus 16, 211

— fraseri 104, 106, 253

— fulvicauda 104, 106

— hypoleucus 211

— leucophrys 30, 210-1

— luteoviridis 106

— nigrocristatus 106, 253

— rivularis 104

— rufifrons 215

— trifasciatus 104, 106, 253

— tristriatus 106
baudinii, Calyptorhynchus 46
baueri, Platycercus 46
belfordi, Melidectes 142
belli, Basileuterus 215
bellicosa, Sturnella 255
berlepschi, Myrmeciza 190

-— , Pyriglena 190

— , Sipia 190
Berlepschia rikeri 70
bernardi, Sakesphorus 250
berthelotii, Anthus 88-92
beryllina, Amazilia 215
Biatas nigropectus 31
bicolor, Accipiter 247

— , Tiaris 17
bistriatus, Burhinus 49
bivittata, Petroica 141, 144
Boissonneaua matthewsii 237
boissonneautii, Pseudocolaptes 105, 250
bonariensis, Molothrus 17, 255
borealis, Contopus 29, 33
bornea, Eos 43
boulboul, Turdus 158, 164
bourcierii, Eubucco 74

bouvronides, Sporophila 17, 27, 32
brachydactyla, Certhia 223
Brachygalba lugubris 211
brachyrhyncha, Rhipidura 141
brachyura, Chaetura 249

— , Synallaxis 250
brasilianum, Glaucidium 14, 248
brasilianus, Phalacrocorax 246
brasiliensis, Amazona 31, 33
brevicauda, Muscigralla 251
brissonil, Cyanocompsa 17
Brotogeris pyrrhopterus 114-6, 248
brunneinucha, Atlapetes 107, 168, 215
brunnescens, Premnoplex 105
Bucco noanamae 68
buckleyi, Columbina 248
buffonii, Chalybura 14
Burhinus bistriatus 49
burkii, Seicercus 162
burra, Certhilauda 174
burrovianus, Cathartes 28
Busarellus nigricollis 28
Buteo albicaudatus 13

— albonotatus 67, 247

— leucorrhous 247

— magnirostris 13, 247

— nitidus 13, 23

— platypterus 13

— polyosoma 247

— swainsonii 28
Buteogallus meridionalis 247

— urubitinga 247
Butorides striatus 247

Cacatua leadbeateri 46

— moluccensis 43
cachinnans, Herpetotheres 13, 247
Cacicus cela 17, 255

— holosericeus 106

— microrhynchus 255
Cacomantis flabelliformis 140

— merulinus 156
caerulea, Polioptila 215
caerulescens, Estrilda 191-2

— , Harpiprion 48

— , Sporophila 27, 33

— , Thamnophilus 211
caeruleus, Cyanerpes 17
cajanea, Aramides 13, 210
Calendula magnirostris 176
Calidris bairdii 67-8

— pusilla 29
calliparaea, Chlorochrysa 107
callonotus, Veniliornis 249
Calochaetes coccineus 107
calopterus, Mecocerculus 106, 251
Calyptorhynchus baudinii 46
Campephilus gayaquilensis 250

— melanoleucus 211
campestris, Anthus 88-92
Camptostoma obsoletum 15, 251
Campylopterus curvipennis 166

Campylopterus excellens 166-8
hemileucurus 215
Campylorhamphus falcularius 50
pusillus 250
trochilirostris 15, 250
Campylorhynchus albobrunneus 74
fasciatus 252

nuchalis 16

canadensis, Wilsonia 106
cancellata, Tringa 97
cancellatus, Aechmorhynchus 97-102
candicans, Caprimulgus 31
candidus, Leuconerpes 211
canicapillus, Picoides 156
canigularis, Chlorospingus 107, 254
canorus, Cuculus 147-51

, Garrulax 159
cantonensis, Pericrocotus 157
canus, Picus 156

capensis, Tetrao 191

, Zonotrichia 85, 107, 255
capitata Paroaria 26

Capito quinticolor 69
Caprimulgus candicans 31
longirostris 29, 248
maculicaudus 29
parvulus 210

rufus 14

carbo, Ramphocelus 17, 107
carbonaria, Diglossa 104
carbonarius, Phrygilus 121-6
Carduelis chloris 223
magellanica 255

psaltria 17, 215
xanthogastra 255
carrikeri, Geotrygon 166-8
Casmerodius albus 247
castaneiceps, Conopophaga 105
, Seicercus 162

castaneus, Pachyramphus 16
castanotis, Pteroglossus 211
Catamblyrhynchus diadema 107, 239, 254
Catamenia analis 254
homochroa 107
Catharacta maccormicki 29
Cathartes aura 13, 201, 247
burrovianus 28

Catharus aurantiirostris 16
dryas 252

fuscater 106, 252
fuscescens 16, 26, 33
minimus 16

occidentalis 215

ustulatus 106, 252
caudata, Drymophila 15
caudatus, Theristicus 48
cayana, Piaya 14, 248

, Tangara 17, 211

, Lityra 211

cayanensis, Leptodon 13, 247

, Myiozetetes 16, 26, 251

cayanus, Hoploxypterus 14

XVil

cayennensis, Columba 13

, Panyptila 14

cela, Cacicus 17, 255

Celeus flavescens 211
Cephalopterus penduliger 252
Cercomacra nigrescens 105
Certhia brachydactyla 223
familiaris 223

Certhilauda albescens 174

burra 174

cerulea, Procelsterna 100
Ceryle torquata 249

Cettia acanthizoides 161
flavolivacea 208

fortipes 161, 164
ceylonensis, Culicicapa 160, 162
Ceyx lecontei 255-6

chacuru, Nystalus 211

Chaetura brachyura 248
cinereiventris 248
chalcopterus, Pionus 248
Chalcostigma herrani 105
chalybea, Progne 252
Chalybura buffoniu 14
Chamaepetes goudotii 247
Chamaerops humilis 226
Charadrius falklandicus 24
vociferus 247

Charitospiza eucosma 32
Chauna torquata 28

cheela, Spilornis 156
Chelidoptera tenebrosa 211
chiguanco, Turdus 252
chilensis, Tangara 107
chimachima, Milvago 13, 210
chimango, Milvago 23
chiriquensis, Elaenia 211
Chiroxiphia lanceolata 16
Chloephaga spp. 198

hybrida 201

chloris, Carduelis 223
Chloroceryle americana 215, 249
Chlorochrysa calliparaea 107
Chlorophanes spiza 253
Chlorophoneus kupeensis 2
Chloropsis hardwickii 158, 164
chloroptera, Ara 30, 55

Cones esate canigularis 107, 254
flavigularis 74, 107, 254
ophthalmicus 107, 168, 215, 254
parvirostris 107
semifuscus 238, 254
tacarcunae 74
Chlorostilbon mellisugus 14
Chlorothraupis stolzmanni 74, 254
choliba, Otus 14
Chondrohierax uncinatus 13, 247
chopi, Gnorimopsar 26
Chordeiles acutipennis 248
minor 49

pusillus 24
chrysocephalus, Myiodynastes 106. 252

chrysogaster, Pheucticus 254
chrysops, Zimmerius 251
chrysopterus, Masius 105, 252
Chrysoptilus melanochloros 211

— punctigula 14
chrysotis, Alcippe 160, 162, 164
Ciccaba sp. 248

— albitarsus 68
Cicinnurus 169, 171
Cinclodes antarcticus 198
Cinclus leucocephalus 252

— mexicanus 214—5
cinerea, Motacilla 157

— , Poospiza 210, 212

— , Serpophaga 106, 251
cinereiceps, Alcippe 160, 162, 164
cinereicollis, Basileuterus 73
cinereiventris, Chaetura 249
cinereum, Todirostrum 15, 251
cinereus, Anodorhynchus 54

— , Contopus 15, 251
cinnamomea, Pyrrhomyias 106

— , Sporophila 27

— , Synallaxis 15
cinnamomeiventris, Ochthoeca 106
Cinnycerthia peruana 106

— unirufa 106
Circaetus gallicus 63
Circus macrourus 63

— pygargus 63
Cisticola aberrans 18-20

— emini 18-20

— lais 20

— njombe 20
Cistothorus platensis 106, 197
citrinella, Emberiza 223
citriniventris, Attila 71
clamator, Rhinoptynx 14
clamosus, Cuculus 150
Claravis godefrida 31

— pretiosa 13, 248
Climacteris affinis 230-2

— erythrops 230

— picumnus 230-1

— superciliosa 230
Cnemoscopus rubrirostris 107
Cnemotriccus fuscatus 15
cobbi, Troglodytes 195-205
coccineus, Calochaetes 107
Coccyzus americanus 14, 49

— erythropthalmus 248

— lansbergi 14, 248

— melacoryphus 14, 210
cocoi, Ardea 246
coelebs, Fringilla 189-90, 223
coelestis, Aglaiocercus 249

— , Forpus 248
Coeligena coeligena 105

— iris 104-5, 116-7, 249

— lutetiae 105

— torquata 105

— wilsoni 249

XVill

Coereba flaveola 17, 106, 253
coerulescens, Melanotis 215

— , Saltator 17
Colibri coruscans 14, 249

— thalassinus 105, 215, 249
Colinus cristatus 13
collaris, Trogon 14, 249
Collocalia esculenta 140

— hirundinacea 140
collybita, Phylloscopus 216-24
Columba cayennensis 13

— fasciata 248

— livia 156

— plumbea 248

— subvinacea 248
columbianus, Odontophorus 13
columbica, Thalurania 249
Columbina buckleyi 248

— cruziana 248

— cyanopis 31

— minuta 11, 13

— passerina 11, 13, 215

— talpacoti 11, 13
concinens, Acrocephalus 161
conirostris, Arremonops 17, 255
Conirostrum sitticolor 106, 253
Conopophaga castaneiceps 105
Conothraupis speculigera 239, 254
Contopus borealis 29, 33

— cinereus 15, 251

— fumigatus 15, 251

— sordidulus 146

— virens 51
cora, Thaumastura 240
Coracina longicauda 140

— melaschista 157
coracinus, Phrygilus 121-6
Coragyps atratus 13, 214, 247
coronatus, Basileuterus 106

— , Harpyhaliaetus 28
coruscans, Colibri 14, 249
Coryphospingus pileatus 17
costaricensis, Geotrygon 167
Cranioleuca antisiensis 105, 250

— erythrops 69

— subcristata 15
crassirostris, Alauda 175
Crateropus apicalis 76
Crax fasciolata 30
cristata, Elaenia 211

— , Goura 42-3
cristatellus, Cyanocorax 211
cristatus, Colinus 13
Crotophaga ani 14, 248

— sulcirostris 14, 248
cruentatus, Melanerpes 211
cruziana, Columbina 248
cryptolophus, Lipaugus 74
cryptoxanthus, Myiophobus 106
Crypturellus parvirostris 210

— transfasciatus 111, 246

— undulatus 210

Sees sp. 147-51
canorus 147-51

— clamosus 150

— gularis 148-50

— poliocephalus 149-51, 156, 164

— rochu 149-51

— saturatus 156

— solitarius 150-1

— sparverioides 156

— stormsi 149
Culicicapa ceylonensis 160, 162
culicivorus, Basileuterus 16
curucui, Trogon 210
curvipennis, Campylopterus 166
Cyanerpes sp. 253

— caeruleus 17

— cyaneus 26, 211, 215
cyanea, Diglossa 107, 253
cyaneus, Cyanerpes 26, 211, 215
cyanicollis, Tangara 107, 253
cyanocephala, Amazilia 215

— , Euphonia 253

— , Thraupis 254
Cyanocitta galeata 39

— stelleri 34-40

Cyanocitta stelleri phillipsi subsp.

nov.
Cyanocompsa brissonii 17
Cyanocorax cristatellus 211

— cyanomelas 26, 211

— cyanopogon 211

— mystacalis 252

cyanoleuca, Notiochelidon 16, 86, 252

Cyanoliseus patagonus 55
Cyanolyca pulchra 72
cyanomelas, Cyanocorax 26
Cyanomyia viridifrons 181
cyanopis, Columbina 31
cyanopogon, Cyanocorax 211
cyanops, Sula 101

Cyanopsitta spixii 55
cyanoptera, Tangara 17
cyanotis, Tangara 107
cyanouroptera, Minla 159-64
Cyclarhis gujanensis 16, 253
Cynanthus latirostris 179
Cyphorhinus phaeocephalus 252
Cypseloides rutilus 249
Cypsnagra hirundinacea 210-1

dactylatra, Sula 100-1
Daphoenositta miranda 141
Daptrius americanus 30
dasypus, Delichon 156
daurica, Hirundo 156
decaocto, Streptopelia 263
decumanus, Psarocolius 17
decurtatus, Hylophilus 253
Delichon dasypus 156
deliciosus, Machaeropterus 252
Dendrocincla fuliginosa 15, 250
— tyrannina 105

XIX

Dendrocolaptes platyrostris 211
Dendrocopus mixtus 211
Dendroica fusca 51, 106, 253

— palmarum 72

— pensylvanica 223

— petechia 16

— striata 16
derbianus, Aulacorhynchus 105

diadema, Catamblyrhynchus 107, 239, 254

— , Ochthoeca 106
dialeucos, Odontophorus 67
difficilis, Empidonax 215
Diglossa albilatera 106, 253

carbonaria 104

— cyanea 106, 253

— glauca 107

— humeralis 104, 106, 253

— lafresnayi 106

— sittoides 253
dignissima, Grallaria 70
dimidiatus, Philydor 211
Dinornis elephantopus 258

— maximus 257-8
discors, Anas 49
Dives warszewiczi 255
doliatus, Thamnophilus 15, 104, 234
domesticus, Passer 62
dominicensis, Tyrannus 146
dominicus, Podiceps 13
dryas, Catharus 252
Drymoica aberrans 20
Drymophila caudata 15
Dryocopus galeatus 29

— lineatus 14, 249
Ducula perspicillata 42
Dubusia taeniata 107
dumetaria, Upucerthia 85
Dysithamnus mentalis 105, 250

ecaudatus, Terathopius 62-3
Elaenia sp. 251

— albiceps 251

— chiriquensis 211

— cristata 211

— flavogaster 15, 211

— mesoleuca 211

— obscura 211

- pallatangae 106

parvirostris 15

Bloncides forficatus 13, 247
Electron platyrhynchum 249
elegans, Melanopareia 250
elephantopus, Dinornis 258

— , Pachyornis 258
Emberiza citrinella 223
emini, Cisticola 18-20
Empidonax difficilis 215

— euleri 211

— griseipectus 237

— hammondii 215

Empidonomus aurantioatrocristatus 211

Eos bornea 43

Eos semilarvata 43
Epimachus 169, 171
episcopus, Thraupis 17, 254
Eremobius phoenicurus 85-6
Eriocnemis mirabilis 68

— vestitus 105

erythrocephalus, Hylocryptus 114, 117-8

erythrogenys, Aratinga 114-5, 248
erythrophthalma, Netta 23
erythrops, Climacteris 230

— ,Cranioleuca 69

— , Odontophorus 247
erythroptera, Ortalis 112-3, 247
erythropthalmus, Coccyzus 248
erythropygius, Pteroglossus 249

— , Xiphorhynchus 250
erythrorhyncha, Urocissa 163
erythrurus, Myiobius 21-22

erythrurus purusianus, Myiobius

subsp. nov. 22

— , Terenotriccus 21
esculenta, Collocalia 140
Estrilda caerulescens 191-2
Eubucco bourcieru 74
eucosma, Charitospiza 32
Eudocimus ruber 48
Eugenes fulgens 215
euleri, Empidonax 211

— |, Lathrotriccus 237
euophrys, Thryothorus 106
Euphonia cyanocephala 253

— lanurostris 17, 253

— trinitatis 17

— xanthogaster 17, 107, 253
Euplectes progne 170
Euscarthmus meloryphus 15, 251

— rufomarginatus 31
Eutoxeres aquila 105, 249
excellens, Campylopterus 166-8
eximius, Phylloscartes 31
exortis, Heliangelus 105

falcirostris, Sporophila 32
Falco femoralis 13

— rufigularis 247

— sparverius 13, 247
falcularius, Campylorhamphus 50
falklandicus, Charadrius 24
familiaris, Certhia 223
fanny, Myrtis 249
fasciata, Columba 248

— , Neothraupis 210, 212
fasciatum, 'Tigrisoma 111, 247
fasciatus, Campylorhynchus 252

— , Myiophobus 15, 251
fasciolata, Crax 30
femoralis, Falco 13

— , Numenius 101

— , Scytalopus 105
ferrea, Saxicola 158
ferruginea, Hirundinea 106
ferrugineipectus, Grallaricula 15

XX

fimbriata, Amazilia 14
flabelliformis, Cacomantis 140
flammeus, Asio 201

— , Pericrocotus 157
flammigerus, Ramphocelus 254
flava, Piranga 254
flaveola, Coereba 17, 106, 253
flavipes, Hylophilus 16

— , Phylloscartes 15

— , Sicalis 17, 254
flaveolus, Basileuterus 16, 211
flavescens, Celeus 211
flavicans, Myiophobus 251

flavigularis, Chlorospingus 74, 107, 254

flavinucha, Anisognathus 253
flavipes, Hylophilus 16

— , Notiochelidon 104, 106

— , Tringa 68, 248
flavirostris, Arremon 212

— , Porphyrula 24
flaviventris, Tolmomyias 15, 25
flavogaster, Elaenia 15, 211
flavolivacea, Cettia 208
fluviatilis, Muscisaxicola 71
Fluvicola nengeta 29
forficatus, Elanoides 13, 247
Formicarius rufipectus 250
Formicivora grisea 15
Forpus coelestis 248

— passerinus 14
fortipes, Cettia 161, 164
Francolinus 191

— nobilis 191

— squamatus 191
fraseri, Basileuterus 104, 106, 253
Fregata magnificens 127-8

— minor 121, 127-8
frenata, Geotrygon 248
Fringilla coelebs 189-90, 223
frontalis, Ochthoeca 106

— Sporophila 32
fruticeta, Phrygilus 85, 121-6
fucosa, Tangara 74
fulgens, Eugenes 215
fuliginosa, Dendrocincla 15, 250
fuliginosus, Oreostruthus 142

— , Rhyacornis 158
fulva, Hirundo 119
fulvicauda, Basileuterus 104, 106
fulviceps, Thlypopsis 17
fulviventris, Turdus 104, 106
fumicolor, Ochthoeca 106
fumigatus, Contopus 15, 251

— , Melipotes 143

— , Myiotheretes 105

— , Turdus 16

— , Veniliornis 105, 249
furcata, Thalurania 50
furcatus, Hemitriccus 29
furcifer, Heliomaster 24
Furnarius leucopus 69, 250

— minor 69

fusca, Dendroica 50, 106, 253
— , Muscicapa 76
— , Phoebetria 60-1
fuscater, Catharus 106, 252
Se hurdus 252
fuscatus, Cnemotriccus 15
fuscescens, Catharus 16, 26, 33
fuscus, Margarops 75-83
fuscus atlanticus, Margarops subsp.
nov. 82-3

fuscus hypenemus, Margarops subsp.

nov. 82-3
fuscus schwartzi, Margarops subsp.
nov. 83
— , Melidectes 142
eee bitydor, 31

gaimardii, Myiopagis 15
Galbula pastazae 104-5

— ruficauda 14
galeata, Antilophia 210-1

— , Cyanocitta 39
galeatus, Dryocopus 29
Galerida magnirostris 173-78
Galerida magnirostris sedentaria

subsp. nov. 174-77

gallicus, Circaetus 63
Gallinago sp. 140, 248

— megala 140
Gampsonyx swainsonii 13, 67
Garrodia nereis 201
Garrulax canorus 159

— milnei 159, 164-5
gayaquilensis, Campephilus 250
genibarbis, Thryothorus 16, 211
Geococcyx velox 215
georgica, Anas 49
Geositta 85
Geothlypis aequinoctialis 16, 253

— semiflava 253

— trichas 223
Geotrygon carrikeri 166-8

— costaricensis 167

— frenata 248

— goldmani 167

— lawrencii 166-7

— montana 248

— saphirina 167

— veraguensis 167

— violacea 49
Geranoaetus melanoleucus 247
Geranospiza melanoleuca 210
gigas, Patagona 249
gilvus, Mimus 16

— , Vireo 16, 104
glauca, Diglossa 107
Glaucidium sp. 248

— brasilianum 14, 248

— gnoma 145
Glaucis hirsuta 14
glaucus, Anodorhynchus 53-9
Glyphorynchus spirurus 50, 105, 250

gnoma, Glaucidium 145
Gnorimopsar chopi 26
godefrida, Claravis 31
godlewskii, Anthus 88
goldmani, Geotrygon 167
goudoti, Chamaepetes 247
gouldiae, Aethopyga 163
Goura spp. 42

— cristata 42-3
graceannae, Icterus 255
Grallaria dignissima 70

— guatimalensis 250

— haplonota 250

— ruficapilla 236, 250

— rufula 105

— watkinsi 236, 250
Grallaricula ferrugineipectus 15

— nana 105

— peruviana 104—5
granadense, Idioptilon 106
grayi, Turdus 215
grisea, Formicivora 15
griseicapillus, Sittasomus 15, 105, 211,

250

griseiceps, Myrmeciza 114, 118, 234, 242,
250

griseipectus, Empidonax 237

— , Lathrotriccus 237, 251
griseogularis, Phaethornis 105, 249
griseus, Nyctibius 14, 210, 248
grossus, Pitylus 107, 254
gryphus, Vultur 247
guarouba, Guaruba 55
Guaruba guarouba 55
guatimalensis, Grallaria 250
guimeti, Klais 14
gujanensis, Cyclarhis 16, 253
gularis, Cuculus 148-50

— , Perdix 191

— , Synallaxis 105
gustavi, Anthus 91
guttata, Tangara 17, 73
guttatus, Xiphorhynchus 15, 211
guttifer, Picummus 211
guttulata, Syndactyla 15
gutturalis, Anthus 140
guy, Phaethornis 105
Gygis alba 100
Gymnomystax mexicanus 17
Gypaetus albicans 260

— barbatus 260-2
gyrola, Tangara 253

Haematoderus militaris 93-6
haematodus, Trichoglossus 43
haematonota, Myrmotherula 104
haematopygius, Aulacorhynchus 249
hammondi, Empidonax 215
haplonota, Grallaria 250

hardwickii, Chloropsis 158, 164
Harpiprion caerulescens 48
Harpyhaliaetus coronatus 28

Harpyhaliaetus solitarius 112, 247
Heliangelus amethysticollis 105

— exortis 105

— strophianus 116, 249

— viola 105, 116-7, 249
Heliodoxa jacula 249

— rubinoides 105
Heliomaster furcifer 24

— longirostris 24, 249
Helothryx barroti 249
hemileucurus, Campylopterus 215
Hemispingus atropileus 107

— melanotis 111, 238, 240, 254

— verticalis 107
Hemitriccus furcatus 29
Henicorhina leucophrys 106, 252

— leucosticta 106
Herpetotheres cachinnans 13, 247
Herpsilochmus pectoralis 50

— rufimarginatus 15
herrani, Chalcostigma 105
hirsuta, Glaucis 14
hirundinacea, Collocalia 140

— , Cypsnagra 210-1
Hirundinea ferruginea 106
Hirundo aequatorialis 119-20

— aequitorialis 119-20

— daurica 156

— fulva 119

— rufocollaris 119, 252

— rustica 16, 86, 156
hodgsoni, Anthus 91
holosericeus, Amblycercus 255

— , Amblyramphus 30

— ,Cacicus 106
homochroa, Catamenia 107
homochrous, Pachyramphus 252
Hoploxypterus cayanus 210
hornensis, Troglodytes 195
humeralis, Diglossa 104, 106, 253
humilis, Chamaerops 226
huttoni, Vireo 146
hybrida, Chloephaga 201
hyacinthinus, Anodorhynchus 53-9
Hydranassa tricolor 48

Hylocryptus erythrocephalus 114, 117-8

Hylophilus aurantiufrons 16

— decurtatus 253

— flavipes 16

— olivaceus 106
Hylophylax poecilonota 105
hypenemus, Margarops fuscus

subsp. nov. 82-3

Hypnelus ruficollis 14
hypoleucus, Basileuterus 211
hypopolius, Melanerpes 215
hypospodia, Synallaxis 25
hypoxantha, Sporophila 27
Hypsipetes madagascariensis 158

icterocephala, Tangara 73, 253
icterotis, Ognorhynchus 55

XX

— , Platycercus 46
Icterus auricapillus 17

— graceannae 255

— icterus 17

— mesomelas 255

— nigrogularis 17

— pustulatus 215
Ictinia plumbea 210
Idioptilon granadense 106

— mirandae 51
igniventris, Anisognathus 107
ignotincta, Minla 159, 160, 162, 165
immaculta, Myrmeciza 190, 250
immaculata macrorhyncha,

Myrmeciza nom. nov. 190

innotata, Aythya 188
inquisitor, Tityra 211, 252
inscriptus, Pteroglossus 211
intermedia, Sporophila 17
Iodopleura isabellae 51

— pipra 51
Iridophanes pulcherrima 107
Iridosornis analis 107

— rufivertex 107
iris, Coeligena 104-5. 116-7, 249
isabellae, Iodopleura 51
isidorei, Pipra 105
Ispidina ruficeps 255

Jabiru mycteria 27
Jacamaralcyon tridactyla 31
Jacana jacana 13
jacarina, Volatinia 17, 254
jacula, Heliodoxa 249
japonica, Zosterops 163
jelskii, Ochthoeca 104, 106, 251
johnsoni, Pseudocolaptes 250
Jubula letti 2
kingi, Aglaiocercus 105, 249
kirkii, Veniliornis 14
Klais guimeti 14
Knipolegus lophotes 211
— poecilocercus 71
kupeensis, Chlorophoneus 2
— , Malaconotus 2

lacrymosus, Anisognathus 107
lactea, Polioptila 31
Lafresnaya lafresnayi 105, 249
lafresnayi, Lafresnaya 105, 249
lafresnayii, Diglossa 106
lais, Cisticola 20
laminirostris, Andigena 72
Lampornis amethystinus 215
Lamprolaima rhami 215
lanceolata, Chiroxiphia 16
laniirostris, Euphonia 17, 253
lansbergi, Coccyzus 14, 248
latebricola, Scytalopus 71, 105
Laterallus albigularis 247
Lathrotriccus euleri 237

— griseipectus 237, 251

latirostris, Cynanthus 179
— , Ocyalus 72
lawesil, Parotia 171
lawrencii, Geotrygon 166-7
leadbeateri, Cacatua 46
leari, Anodorhynchus 53-9
lecontei, Ceyx 255-6
Legatus leucophatus 252
Leiothrix lutea 159, 160, 162, 164
Lepidocolaptes affinis 105, 250
— angustirostris 211
— souleyeti 15, 250
Leptodon cayanensis 13, 247
Leptopogon rufipectus 106
— superciliaris 15, 106
Leptotila ochraceiventris 113-4, 248
— verreauxi 13, 114, 248
Lesbia nuna 105, 249
Lessonia rufa 85
letti1, Jubula 2
leucocephalus, Cinclus 252
leucomelas, Turdus 16, 211
Leuconerpes candidus 211
leuconota, Pyriglena 105
leucophaius, Legatus 252
leucophrys, Basileuterus 30, 210-1
— , Henicorhina 106, 252
— , Vireo 104, 106, 253
leucophthalmus, Aratinga 210
leucops, Platycichla 252
leucoptera, Piranga 107, 254
Leucopternis occidentalis 112, 247
— princeps 247
leucopterus, Atlapetes 104, 107, 254
leucopus, Furnarius 69, 250
leucopyga, Tachycineta 86
leucorrhous, Buteo 247
leucosticta, Henicorhina 106
leucotis, Thryothorus 211
leucurus, Threnetes 105
Lichenostomus subfrenatus 142, 144
lictor, Pitangus 25
Limnocolinus 191
lineatus, Dryocopus 14, 249
lintoni, Myiophobus 104, 106
Lipaugus cryptolophus 74
livia, Columba 156
Lonchura montana 139, 142, 144
— striata 163
longicauda, Coracina 140
longicaudatus, Mimus 253
longipes, Myrmeciza 15
longirostris, Caprimulgus 29, 248
— , Heliomaster 24, 249
longuemareus, Phaethornis 14, 249
Lophorina 169, 171
lophotes, Knipolegus 211
Lophotriccus pileatus 71, 251
lorentzi, Pachycephala 141
luctuosa, Sporophila 254
ludovicianus, Pheucticus 17
lugubris, Brachygalba 211

XXII

— , Quiscalus 17
lutea, Leiothrix 159, 160, 162, 164
luteoviridis, Basileuterus 106
lutetiae, Coeligena 105

macao, Ara 55
maccormicki, Catharacta 29
Macgregoria pulchra 139, 142, 144
macgrigoriae, Niltava 162
Machaeropterus deliciosus 252
macrorhyncha, Myrmeciza
immaculata nom. nov. 190
macrourus, Circus 63
macularia, Actitis 248
maculatus, Bucco 25
— , Myiodynastes 16, 252
— , Nystalus 211
maculicaudus, Caprimulgus 29
maculirostris, Turdus 253
madagascariensis, Hypsipetes 158
magellanica, Carduelis 255
magellanicus, Spinus 107
magnirostris, Alauda 175
— , Buteo 13, 247
— , Calendula 176
— , Galerida 173-8
magnirostris sedentaria, Galerida
subsp. nov. 174-7
major, Parus 162
— , Taraba 15, 250
Malaconotus kupeensis 2
mangle, Aramides 28
magnificens, Fregata 127-8
manilata, Ara 24, 55, 210
Manucodia 169
maracana, Ara 55
Margarops 77
— albiventris 76-7
— fuscus 75-83
Margarops fuscus atlanticus subsp.
nov. 82-3

Margarops fuscus hypenemus subsp.

nov. 82-3
Margarops fuscus schwartzi subsp.
nov. 83

— montanus 76, 81
Margarornis squamiger 105, 250
marti, Baryphthengus 249
Masius chrysopterus 105, 252
matthewsii, Boissonneaua 237
maximiliani, Oryzoborus 32
maximus, Dinornis 257-8

— , Saltator 107, 212, 254
Mecocerculus calopterus 106, 251

— poecilocercus 106, 251

— stictopterus 106, 251
megala, Gallinago 140
Megarhynchus pitangua 15, 251
melacoryphus, Coccyzus 14, 210
melancholicus, Tyrannus 16, 252
Melanerpes cruentatus 211

— hypopolius 215

Melanerpes rubricapillus 14
melanocephalus, Myioborus 106
melanochlamys, Bangsia 74
melanochloros, Chrysoptilus 211
melanogaster, Sporophila 27
melanogenys, Adelomyia 105, 249
melanoleuca, Geranospiza 210

— , Tringa 248
melanoleucus, Campephilus 211

— , Geranoaetus 247

— , Spizastur 28
melanonota, Pipraeidea 253
Melanopareia elegans 250
melanopis, Schistochlamys 30
melanops, Trichothraupis 211
melanorhynchus, Thripadectes 105
Melanotis coerulescens 215
melanotis, Hemispingus 111, 238
melanotos, Sarkidiornis 247
melanura, Palaeornis 45-6
melanurus, Ramphocaenus 16

— Trogon 249
melaschista, Coracina 157
Melidectes sp. 144

— belfordi 142

— fuscus 142

— nouhuysi 142, 144

— princeps 144
Melipotes fumigatus 143
mellisugus, Chlorostilbon 14
meloryphus, Euscarthmus 15, 251
mentalis, Dysithamnus 105, 250
meridionalis, Buteogallus 247
merula, Turdus 158
merulinus, Cacomantis 156
mesoleuca, Elaenia 211
mesomelas, Icterus 255
Metallura tyrianthina 105
mexicanus, Cinclus 214-5

— , Gymnomystax 17

— ,Momotus 215

— , Trogon 215
Micrastur ruficollis 247

— semitorquatus 49
Micrathene whitneyi 214—5
Micropygia schomburgkii 28
microrhynchus, Cacicus 255
micrura, Myrmia 249
militaris, Haematoderus 93-6
milnei, Garrulax 159, 164—5
Milvago chimachima 13, 210

— chimango 23
Mimus gilvus 16

— longicaudatus 253

— triurus 30

miniatus, Myioborus 16, 73, 106, 253

minimus, Catharus 16

Minla cyanouroptera 159, 160, 162, 164

— ignotincta 159, 160, 162, 164
minor, Chordeiles 49

— , Fregata 101, 127-8

— , Furnarius 69

XX1V

— , Nothura 30, 32
minuta, Columbina 11, 13

— , Piaya 14

— , Sporophila 17
minutus, Xenops 15, 250
Mionectes oleagineus 251

— olivaceus 15, 106, 251

— striaticollis 106, 251
mirabilis, Eriocnemis 68
Murafra, sabota 173, 175
miranda, Daphoenositta 141
mirandae, Idioptilon 51
mixtus, Dendrocopus 211
modestus, Sylviparus 163—4
Molothrus badius 26

— bonariensis 17, 255

— rufoaxillaris 26
moluccensis,Cacatua 43
momota, Momotus 211, 259
Momotus mexicanus 215

— momota 211, 259

monarchoides, Polytelis anthopeplus

subsp. nov. 46

Monasa nigrifrons 211
montana, Allenia 82

— , Geotrygon 248

— , Lonchura 139, 142, 144
montanus, Margarops 76, 81

— , Passer 163

— , Turdus 76, 80
Monticola rufiventris 158, 164
monticolus, Parus 162, 164
montium, Paramythia 141
montivagus, Aeronautes 249
moreirae, Oreophylax 25, 33
Motacilla alba 157

— .cinerea 157
motacilla, Seiurus 215
murina, Acanthiza 140

— , Phaeomyias 15
Muscicapa fusca 76
— thalassina 162, 164
Muscigralla brevicauda 251
Muscisaxicola fluviatilis 71
musculus, Troglodytes 195
Myadestes occidentalis 215
— ralloides 106, 252
mycteria, Jabiru 27
Myiarchus phaeocephalus 251
— tuberculifer 106, 251
— tyrannulus 15
Myiobius sp. 251

— erythrurus 21-22
Myiobius erythrurus purusianus

subsp. nov. 22

Myioborus melanocephalus 106

— miniatus 16, 73, 106, 253
Myiodynastes bairdii 252

— chrysocephalus 106, 252

— maculatus 16, 252
Myiopagis gaimardi 15

— subplacens 251

Myiopagis viridicata 15
Myiophobus cryptoxanthus 106
— fasciatus 15, 251
— flavicans 251
— lintoni 104, 106
— phoenicomitra 106
Myiotheretes fumigatus 105
— striaticollis 106, 251
Myiotriccus ornatus 106, 251
Myiozetetes cayanensis 16, 26, 251
— similis 16, 251
Myornis senilis 105
Myospiza aurifrons 107
Myrmeciza berlepschi 190
— griseiceps 114, 118, 234, 242, 250
— immaculata 190, 250
Myrmeciza immaculata
macrorhyncha nom. nov. 190
— longipes 15
Myrmia micrura 249
Myrmotherula haematonota 104
— schisticolor 70, 250
— spodionota 104-5
Myrtis fanny 249
mystacalis, Cyanocorax 252
— , Thryothorus 252
mystaceus, Platyrinchus 71, 106, 251
Myzomela rosenbergii 141, 144

naevia, Tapera 14, 248
nana, Grallaricula 105
nanus, Taoniscus 30
nativitatis, Puffinus 101
nattereri, Anthus 32
nengeta, Fluvicola 29
Neothraupis fasciata 210, 212
nereis, Garrodia 201
Nesospiza 2
Netta erythrophthalma 23
nigrescens, Cercomacra 105
nigricans, Sayornis 106, 215, 251
nigricapillus, Thryothorus 252
nigriceps, Saltator 239-40, 254
— , Turdus 211, 252
nigricollis, Anthracothorax 14
— , Busarellus 28
— , Sporophila 17, 27, 254
nigrifrons, Monasa 211
nigrimenta, Yuhina 160
nigrocristatus, Anairetes 111, 236, 240,
251
— , Basileuterus 106, 253
nigrogularis, Icterus 17
nigropectus, Biatas 31
nigroviridis, Tangara 107, 253
Niltava macgrigoriae 162
nipalensis, Aquila 63
nitidus, Buteo 13, 23
niveigularis, Tyrannus 252
njombe, Cisticola 20
noanamae, Bucco 68
nobilis, Ara 55

— , Francolinus 191
notabilis, Anisognathus 238, 253
Notharchus tectus 211
Nothoprocta sp. 246
Nothura minor 30, 32
Notiochelidon cyanoleuca 16, 86, 252

— flavipes 104, 106
Notocolinus 191
nouhuysi, Melidectes 142, 144
noveboracensis, Seiurus 16
nuchalis, Campylorhynchus 16
nudigenis, Turdus 16
Numenius femoralis 101

— phaeopus 24

— tahitiensis 99, 101
nuna, Lesbia 105, 249
Nyctibius griseus 14, 210, 248
Nycticorax nycticorax 201
Nyctidromus albicollis 14, 210, 248
Nystalus chacuru 211

— maculatus 211

obscura, Elaenia 211

— , Sporophila 17
obsoletum, Camptostoma 15, 251
obsoletus, Turdus 238, 252
occidentalis, Catharus 215

— , Leucopternis 112, 247

— , Myadestes 215

— , Pelecanus 48
Ochthoeca cinnamomeiventris 106

— diadema 106

— frontalis 106

— fumicolor 106

— jelskii 104, 106, 251

— pulchella 104

— rufipectoralis 106, 251
ochraceiventris, Leptotila 113-4, 248
Ocreatus underwoodii 249
Ocyalus latirostris 72
Odontophorus columbianus 13

— dialeucos 67

— erythrops 247
Ognorhynchus icterotis 55
oleagineus, Mionectes 251
olivaceus, Hylophilus 106

— ,Mionectes 15, 106, 251

— , Vireo 16, 252-3
ophthalmicus, Chlorospingus 107, 168,

215, 254

Oporornis agilis 16

— tolmiei 215
orcesi, Pyrrhura 108, 115, 242, 248
Oreophylax moreirae 25, 33
Oreopsittacus arfaki 140
Oreostruthus fuliginosus 142
ornata, Thlypopsis 107, 254
ornatus,Myiotriccus 106, 251

— , Spizaetus 28, 247
Ortalis 113

— erythroptera 112, 247

— ruficauda 11, 13

Oryzoborus angolensis 17, 32, 107, 212,
254

— maximiliani 32
Otus sp. 248

— albogularis 248

— choliba 14

— roboratus 116, 248

Pachycephala sp. 161

— lorentzi 141
Pachyornis elephantopus 258
Pachyramphus albogriseus 252

— castaneus 16

— homochrous 252

— polychopterus 16

— rufus 16

— versicolor 105
Palaeornis anthopeplus 45-6

— melanura 45-6

— rosaceus 46
pallatangae, Elaenia 106
pallidiceps, Atlapetes 242
pallidinucha, Atlapetes 107
palmarum, Dendroica 72

— , Thraupis 17, 254
palmeri, Tangara 74
palpebrata, Phoebetria 60-1
palustris, Sporophila 27
panamensis, Scytalopus 70
Panyptila cayennensis 14
papa, Sarcoramphus 247
Parabuteo unicinctus 30,112, 247
Paradigalla 171
Paradisaea 171-2

— rudolphi 171
Paradoxornis webbianus 160
Paramythia montium 141
Paroaria capitata 26
Parotia 169-71

— lawesii 171
Parula pitiayumi 16, 106, 253
parulus, Anairetes 106, 251
Parus major 162

— monticolus 162, 164

— spilonotus 162, 164
parvirostris, Aechmorhynchus 101-2

— , Chlorospingus 107

— ,Crypturellus 210

— , Elaenia 15

— , Pterodroma 101

— , Tringa 97-102
parvulus, Caprimulgus 210
parzudakii, Tangara 107, 253
Passer domesticus 62

— montanus 163
Passerina versicolor 215
passerina, Columbina 11, 13, 215
passerinus, Forpus 14
pastazae, Galbula 104-5
Patagona gigas 249
patagonus, Cyanoliseus 55
pectoralis, Herpsilochmus 50

XXVI1

Pelecanoides sp. 201
Pelecanus occidentalis 48
pelzelni, Pseudotriccus 106
penduliger, Cephalopterus 252
Penelope albipennis 242

— barbata 113, 247

— purpurascens 247
pensylvanica, Dendroica 223
Perdix gularis 191
peregrina, Vermivora 16
Pericrocotus cantonensis 157

— flammeus 157

— solarius 157
Pernis apivorus 63

— ptilorhyncus 155
personatus, Trogon 105, 249
perspicillata, Ducula 42

— , Pulsatrix 248
pertinax, Aratinga 14
peruana, Cinnycerthia 106
peruviana, Grallaricula 104-5

— , Sporophila 254
petechia, Dendroica 16
Petrochelidon fulva 119

— rufocollaris 119
Petroica bivittata 141, 144
petrosus, Anthus 88-91
Phacellodomus rufifrons 15, 25, 211
phaeocephalus, Cyphorhinus 252

— , Myiarchus 251
Phaeomyias murina 15
phaeopus, Numenius 24
Phaethon phoenicurus 100

— rubricauda 100-1
Phaethornis sp. 249

— augusti 14

— griseogularis 105, 249

— guy 105

— longuemareus 14, 249

— syrmatophorus 105, 249

— yaruqui 249
Phalacrocorax brasilianus 246
Phalaropus tricolor 68
Pharomachrus auriceps 249
Pheucticus chrysogaster 254

— ludovicianus 17 :
phillipsi, Cyanocitta stelleri subsp.

nov. 37-40

Philydor dimidiatus 211

— fuscus 31
Phoebetria 60-1

— fusca 60-1

— palpebrata 60-1
phoenicomitra, Myiophobus 106
Phoenicopterus ruber 49
phoenicurus, Eremobius 85-6

— , Phaethon 100
phryganophila, Synallaxis 25
Phrygilus 85

— alaudinus 254

— atriceps 125

— carbonarius 121-6

Phrygilus coracinus 121-6

— fruticeti 85, 121-6

— plebejus 254
Phyllomyias uropygialis 251
Phylloscartes sp. 251

— eximius 31

— flaveola 15
Phy pu lcscopus 208, 216

affinis 207-8

— collybita 216-224

— proregulus 161

— reguloides 160-1, 164

— ricketti 161

— subaffinis 207-8

trochilus 216-224

Brava cayana 14, 248

— munuta 14
Pica pica 163
Picoides canicapillus 156
Piculus rivoli 249

— rubiginosus 14, 249
Picumnus guttifer 211

— pygmaeus 50

— sclateri 249

— squamulatus 14, 69
picumnus, Climacteris 230-1
Picus canus 156
picus, Xiphorhynchus 50
pilaris, Atalotriccus 15
pileatus, Coryphospingus 17

— , Lophotriccus 71, 251

— , Pilherodius 48

— , Platycercus 46

— , Pomatorhinus 230
Pilherodius pileatus 48
Pionopsitta pulchra 248
Pionus chalcopterus 248

— sordidus 248
Pipra isidorei 105
pipra, Ilodopleura 51
Pipraeidea melanonota 253
Pipreola arcuata 105

— riefferii 105
Piranga flava 254

— leucoptera 107, 254

— rubra 17, 254

— rubriceps 107
piscator, Sula 101
pitangua, Megarhynchus 15, 251
Pitangus lictor 25

— sulphuratus 15
pitiayumi, Parula 16, 106, 253
Pitylus grossus 107, 254

piurae, Hemispingus melanotis 111, 238,

240, 254

plancus, Polyborus 13, 247
platensis, Cistothorus 106, 197
Platycercus baueri 46

— icterotis 46

— pileatus 46

— stanleyii 46
Platycichla leucops 252

XXV1I

platypterus, Buteo 13
platyrhynchum, Electron 249
Platyrinchus mystaceus 71, 106, 251
platyrostris, Dendrocolaptes 211
plebejus, Phrygilus 254
plumbea, Columba 248

— , Ictinia 210

— , Pohoptila 16, 252
Pnoepyga pusilla 159
Podiceps dominicus 13
poecilocercus, Knipolegus 71

— , Mecocerculus 106, 251
poecilonota, Hylophylax 105
Poecilotriccus ruficeps 236, 240, 251
Poecilurus scutatus 211
poliocephalus, Cuculus 149-51, 156, 164

— , Turdus 140
Polioptila caerulea 215

— lactea 31

— plumbea 16, 252
Polyborus plancus 13, 247
polychopterus, Pachyramphus 16
polyosoma, Buteo 247
Polytelis anthopeplus 44-6
Polytelis anthopeplus monarchoides

subsp. nov. 46

— swainsonii 46
pomarina, Aquila 63
pomarinus, Stercorarius 29
Pomatorhinus pileatus 230

— ruficollis 158, 164
Poospiza cinerea 210, 212
Porphyrula flavirostris 24
pratensis, Anthus 88-9
Premnoplex brunnescens 105
pretiosa, Claravis 13, 248
princeps, Leucopternis 247

— , Melidectes 144
Procelsterna cerulea 100
Progne chalybea 252
progne, Euplectes 170
promeropirhynchus, Xiphocolaptes 15,

250

propinqua, Synallaxis 69
proregulus, Phylloscopus 161
Prosobonia 97
psaltria, Carduelis 17, 215
Psarocolius angustifrons 255
— decumanus 17
Pseudocolaptes boissonneautii 105, 250
— johnsoni 250
Pseudotriccus pelzelni 106
— ruficeps 106
Pteridophora 171
Pternistis 191
Pterodroma parvirostris 101
Pteroglossus castanotis 211
— erythropygius 249
— inscriptus 211
ptilorhynus, Pernis 155
Ptiloris 169, 171
Puffinus nativitatis 101

pulchella, Ochthoeca 104
pulcherrima, Iridophanes 107
pulchra, Cyanolyca 72

— , Macgregoria 139, 142, 144

— , Pionopsitta 248
Pulsatrix perspicillata 248
punctata, Tangara 107
punctigula, Chrysoptilus 14
purpurascens, Penelope 247
Purpureicephalus spurius 46
purusianus, Myiobius erythrurus

subsp. nov. 22

pusilla, Calidris 29

— , Pnoepyga 159

— , Wilsonia 73, 215
pusillus, Campylorhamphus 250

— , Chordeiles 24
pustulatus, Icterus 215
Pycnonotus sinensis 158
pygargus, Circus 63
pygmaeus, Picumnus 50
Pyriglena berlepschi 190

— leuconota 105
Pyrocephalus rubinus 251
Pyrrhocoma ruficeps 212
Pyrrhomyias cinnamomea 106
pyrrhopterus, Brotogeris 114-6, 248
Pyrrhura albipectus 104—5

— orcesi 108, 115,:242, 248

quinticolor, Capito 69
Quiscalus lugubris 17

ralloides, Myadestes 106, 252

Ramphastos swainsonii 249

Ramphocaenus melanurus 16

Ramphocelus carbo 17, 107
— flammigerus 254

reevei, Turdus 252

reguloides, Anairetes 236

reguloides, Phylloscopus 160-1, 164

rhami, Lamprolaima 215

Rhinoptynx clamator 14

Rhipidura brachyrhyncha 141

Rhodinocichla rosea 17

Rhyacornis fuliginosus 158

richardi, Anthus 88

ricketti, Phylloscopus 161

riefferii, Pipreola 105

rikeri, Berlepschia 70

Riparia riparia 85-7

rivolii, Piculus 249

rivularis, Basileuterus 104

roboratus, Otus 116, 248

rochii, Cuculus 149-51

rogersi, Atlantisia 2

rosaceus, Palaeornis 46

rosea, Rhodinocichla 17

rosenbergi, Amazilia 68

rosenbergii, Myzomela 141, 144

rostro-crassa, Alauda 175

XXVH11

rowleyi, Amazilia viridifrons subsp.
nov. 181-6

ruber, Eudocimus 48

— , Phoenicopterus 49
rubescens, Anthus 88
rubiginosus, Piculus 14, 249
rubinoides, Heliodoxa 105
rubinus, Pyrocephalus 251
rubra, Piranga 17, 254
rubricapillus, Melanerpes 14
rubricauda, Phaethon 100-1
rubriceps, Piranga 107
rubrirostris, Cnemoscopus 107
rubrocristatus, Ampelion 105, 252
rubrogenys, Ara 55
rudolphi, Paradisaea 171
rufa, Lessonia 85
ruficapilla, Grallaria 236, 250
ruficapillus, Baryphthengus 211
ruficauda, Galbula 14

— , Ortalis 11, 13
ruficeps, Ceyx leconte1 255-6

— , Ispidina 255

— , Poecilotriccus 236, 240, 251

— , Pseudotriccus 106

— , Pyrrhocoma 212
ruficervix, Tangara 107, 238
ruficollis, Automolus 117-8

— , Hypnelus 14

— , Micrastur 247

— , Pomatorhinus 158, 164

— , Sporophila 26

— , Stelgidopteryx 16, 252

— , Syndactyla 117-8, 242, 250
rufifrons, Basileuterus 215

— , Phacellodomus 15, 25, 211
rufigula, Tangara 253
rufigularis, Falco 247
rufimarginatus, Herpsilochmus 15
rufinucha, Atlapetes 107, 254
rufipectoralis, Ochthoeca 106, 251
rufipectus, Formicarius 250

— , Leptopogon 106
rufiventris, Monticola 158, 164
rufivertex, Iridosornis 107

— , Tangara 253
rufoaxillaris, Molothrus 26
rufocollaris, Hirundo 119, 252

— , Petrochelidon 119
rufogularis, Apalis 2
rufomarginatus, Euscarthmus 31
rufopalliatus, Turdus 215
rufula, Grallaria 105
rufus, Caprimulgus 14

— , Pachyramphus 16

— , Tachyphonus 17, 107, 211
rustica, Hirundo 16, 86, 156
ruticilla, Setophaga 16
rutila, Amazilia 179
rutilans, Xenops 250
rutilus, Cypseloides 249

— , Thryothorus 16

sabota, Mirafra 173, 175
Sakesphorus bernardi 250
Saltator albicollis 17, 254

— atripennis 254

— aurantiirostris 240

— coerulescens 17

— maximus 107, 212, 254

— nigriceps 239-40, 254

— similis 212
saphirina, Geotrygon 167
Sarcoramphus papa 247
Sarkidiornis melanotos 247
saturatus, Cuculus 156
savannarum, Ammodramus 215
Saxicola ferrea 158
sayaca, Thraupis 17
Sayornis nigricans 106, 215, 251
Scardafella squammata 13
schisticolor, Myrmotherula 70, 250
Schistochlamys melanopis 30
schlegeli, Arremon 17
schomburgkii, Micropygia 28
schwartzi, Margarops fuscus subsp.

nov. 83

sclateri, Picumnus 249

— , Thryothorus 252
scutatus, Poecilurus 211
Scytalopus sp. 250

— femoralis 105

— latebricola 71, 150

— panamensis 70

— unicolor 250

— vicinior 70-1
sedentaria, Galerida magnirostris

subsp. nov. 174-7

seebohmi, Atlapetes 254
Seicercus burkii 162

— castaneiceps 162
Seiurus motacilla 215

— noveboracensis 16
semifasciata, Tityra 69
semiflava, Geothlypis 253
semifuscus, Chlorospingus 238, 254
semilarvata, Eos 43
semirufus, Atlapetes 17
semitorquatus, Micrastur 49
semitorques, Spizixos 157
senilis, Myornis 105
Serpophaga cinerea 106, 251
serranus, Turdus 252
Setophaga ruticilla 16
severa, Ara 55
Sicalis flaveola 17, 254
sicki, Terenura 50
similis, Anthus 88—92

— , Myiozetetes 16, 251

— , Saltator 212
simplex, Sporophila 254
sinensis, Pycnonotus 158
Sipia berlepschi 190

Sittasomus griseicapillus 15, 105, 211, 250

sitticolor, Conirostrum 106, 253

XX1X

sittoides, Diglossa 253
solarius, Pericrocotus 157
solitarius, Cuculus 150-1

— , Harpyhaliaetus 112, 247

— , Pericrocotus 157
solstitialis, Troglodytes 106, 252
sordidulus, Contopus 146
sordidus, Pionus 248
souleyetii, Lepidocolaptes 15, 250
spadix, Thryothorus 72
sparverioides, Cuculus 156
sparverius, Falco 13, 247
speculigera, Conothraupis 239, 254
spilonotus, Parus 162, 164
Spilornis cheela 156
spinoletta, Anthus 89-91
Spinus magellanicus 107
spirururs, Glyphorynchus 50, 105, 250
spixil, Cyanopsitta 55

— , Xiphorhynchus 50
spiza, Chlorophanes 253
Spizaetus ornatus 28, 247

— tyrannus 13, 247
Spizastur melanoleucus 28
Spizixos semitorques 157
spodionota, Myrmotherula 104—5
Sporophila americana 254

— ardesiaca 27, 32-3

— bouvronides 17, 27, 32

— caerulescens 27, 33

— cimnamomea 27

— falcirostris 32

— frontalis 32

— hypoxantha 27

— intermedia 17

— luctuosa 254

— melanogaster 27

— minuta 17

— nigricollis 17, 27, 254

— obscura 17

— palustris 27

— peruviana 254

— ruficollis 26

— simplex 254
spurius, Purpureicephalus 46
squamata, Tachornis 24
Squamatocolinus 191
squamatus, Francolinus 191
squamiger, Margarornis 105, 250
squammata, Scardafella 13
squamulatus, Picumnus 14, 69
Spinus magellanicus 107
stanleyii, Platycercus 46
Stelgidopteryx ruficollis 16, 252
stelleri, Cyanocitta 34-40
stelleri phillipsi, Cyanocitta subsp.

nov. 37-40

Stercorarius pomarinus 29
stictopterus, Mecocerculus 106, 251
stolidus, Anous 101
stolzmanni, Aimophila 255

— , Chlorothraupis 74, 254

stormsi, Cuculus 149
Streptopelia decaocto 263
Streptoprocne zonaris 14, 248
striata, Dendroica 16

— , Lonchura 163
striaticollis, Mionectes 106, 251

— , Myiotheretes 251
striatus, Butorides 247
strophianus, Heliangelus 116, 249
Sturnella bellicosa 255
stygius, Asio 116, 248
subafhinis, Phylloscopus 207-8
subcristata, Cranioleuca 15
subfrenatus, Lichenostomus 142, 144
Sublegatus arenarum 15
subplacens, Myiopagis 251
subvinacea, Columba 248
Sula cyanops 101

— dactylatra 100-1

— piscator 101

— sula 101, 127
sulcirostris, Crotophaga 14, 248
sulphuratus, Pitangus 15
sulphurescens, Tolmomyias 251
superciliaris, Leptopogon 15, 106
superciliosa, Climacteris 230
swainsonil, Buteo 28

— ., Gampsonyx 13, 67

— , Polytelis 46

— , Ramphastos 249
sylvanus, Anthus 88, 157
sylvatica, Turnix 225-8
Sylviparus modestus 163-4
Synallaxis albescens 15

— azarae 105, 250

— brachyura 250

— cinnamomea 15

— gularis 105

— hypospodia 25

— phryganophila 25

— propinqua 69

— tithys 114, 117-8, 240, 250

— unirufa 105
Syndactyla guttulata 15

— ruficollis 117-8, 242, 250
syrmatophorus, Phaethornis 105, 249

tacarcunae, Chlorospingus 74
Tachornis squamata 24
Tachycineta albiventer 119-20

— leucopyga 86
Tachyphonus rufus 17, 107, 211
taciturnus, Arremon 212
taeniata, Dubusia 107
tahitiensis, Numenius 99, 101
talpacoti, Columbina 11, 13
Tangara arthus 253

— cayana 17, 211

— chilensis 107

— cyanicollis 107, 253

— cyanoptera 17

— cyanotis 107

XXX

— fucosa 74

— guttata 17,73

— gyrola 253

— icterocephala 73, 253

— nigroviridis 107, 253

— palmeri 74

— parzudakii 107, 253

— punctata 107

— ruficervix 107, 238

— rufigula 253

— rufivertex 253

— vassori 107, 253

— viridicollis 253
‘Taoniscus nanus 30
Tapera naevia 14, 248
Taraba major 15, 250
tectus, Notharchus 211
tenebrosa, Chelidoptera 211
‘Terathopius ecaudatus 63
‘Terenotriccus erythrurus 21
Terenura sicki 50
Tersina viridis 17, 254
‘Tetrao capensis 191
thalassina, Muscicapa 162, 164
thalassinus, Colibri 105, 215, 249
Thalurania columbica 249

— furcata 50
Thamnistes anabatinus 105, 250
Thamnophilus caerulescens 211

— doliatus 15, 104, 234

— unicolor 250

— zarumae 104-5, 234, 250
‘Thaumastura cora 240
Theristicus caudatus 48
Thlypopsis fulviceps 17

— ornata 107, 254
Thraupis cyanocephala 254

— episcopus 17, 254

— palmarum 17, 254

— sayaca 17
Threnetes leucurus 105
Thripadectes melanorhynchus 105
re othorus euophrys 106

genibarbis 16, 211

— leucotis 211

— mystacalis 252

— nigricapillus 252

— rutilus 16

— sclateri 252

— spadix 72
Tiaris bicolor 17
Tigrisoma fasciatum 111, 247
tithys, Synallaxis 114, 117-8, 240, 250
Tityra cayana 211

— inquisitor 211, 252

— semifasciata 69
tobaci, Amazilia 14
Todirostrum cinereum 15, 251
tolmiei, Oporornis 215
Tolmomyias assimilis 106

— flaviventris 15, 25

— sulphurescens 251

torquata, Ceryle 249

, Chauna 28

, Coeligena 105
torquatus, Atlapetes 107, 254
torridus, Attila 237-8, 251
transfasciatus, Crypturellus 111, 246
triangularis, Xiphorhynchus 105
trichas, Geothlypis 223
Trichoglossus haematodus 43
Trichothraupis melanops 211
tricolor, Atlapetes 254

, Hydranassa 48

, Phalaropus 68
tridactyla, Jacamaralcyon 31
trifasciatus, Basileuterus 104, 106, 253
Tringa cancellata 97

flavipes 68, 248
melanoleuca 248
parvirostris 97-102
trinitatis, Euphonia 17
tristriatus, Basileuterus 106
triurus, Mimus 30

trivialis, Anthus 88, 91, 223
trochilirostris, Camnpyilon fetaey 9 ue 15.92/50
trochilus, Phylloscopus 216-24
Troglodytes aedon 16, 195, 252
cobbi 195-205

hornensis 195

musculus 195

solstitialis 106, 252
troglodytes 197

Trogon collaris 14, 249
curucui 210

melanurus 249
mexicanus 215
personatus 105, 249
tschudii, Ampelioides 252
tuberculifer, Myiarchus 106, 251
TRG albicollis Zi

apicalis 76

assimilis 215

boulboul 158, 164
chiguanco 252
fulviventris 104, 106
fumigatus 16

fuscater 252

grayi 215

leucomelas 16, 211
maculirostris 253

merula 158

montanus 76, 80
nigriceps 211, 252
nudigenis 16

obsoletus 238, 252
poliocephalus 140

reevei 252

rufopalliatus 215
serranus 252

Turnix sylvatica 225-8
tyrannina, Dendrocincla 105
Tyranniscus uropygialis 106
tyrannulus, Myiarchus 15

XXX1

Tyrannus albogularis 211
dominicensis 146
melancholicus 16, 252
niveigularis 252
verticalis 146
vociferans 146
tyrannus, Spizaetus 13, 247
tyrianthina, Metallura 105
Tyto alba 116, 248

tzacatl, Amazilia 14, 249

uncinatus, Chondrohierax 13, 247
underwoodii, Ocreatus 249
undulatus, Crypturellus 210
unicinctus, Parabuteo 30, 112, 247
unicolor, Scytalopus 250

, Thamnophilus 250
unirufa, Cinnycerthia 106

, Synallaxis 105

Upucerthia dumeteria 85
Urocissa erythrorhyncha 163
uropygialis, Phyllomyias 251

, Tyranniscus 106
urubitinga, Buteogallus 247
ustulatus, Catharus 106, 252

variegaticeps, Anabacerthia 74, 250
vassoril, Tangara 107, 253
velox, Geococcyx 215
Veniliornis callonotus 249
fumigatus 105, 249
kirkii 14
ventralis, Accipiter 247
veraguensis, Geotrygon 167
Vermivora peregrina 16
verreauxi, Leptotila 13, 114, 248
versicolor, Pachyramphus 105
, Passerina 215
verticalis, Hemispingus 107
, Tyrannus 146
vestitus, Eriocnemis 105
vicinior, Scytalopus 70
vilissimus, Zimmerius 15
viola, Heliangelus 105, 116-7, 249
violacea, Geotrygon 49
violiceps, Amazilia 179-86, 214—5
virens, Contopus 51
Vireo gilvus 16, 104
huttoni 146
leucophrys 104, 106, 253
olivaceus 16, 253
viridicata, Myiopagis 15
viridicollis, Tangara 253
viridifrons, Amazilia 179-87
viridifrons rowleyi, Amazilia subsp.
nov. 181-6

, Cyanomyia 181
viridis, Tersina 17, 254
vociferans, Tyrannus 146
vociferus, Charadrius 247
Volatinia jacarina 17, 254

XXX

Vultur gryphus 247 — picus 50
warszewiczil, Dives 255 — spixu 50
watkinsi, Grallaria 236, 250 — triangularis 105

webbianus, Paradoxornis 160
whitneyi, Micrathene 214-5
wilsoni, Coeligena 249
Wilsonia canadensis 106

— pusilla 73, 215

yaruqui, Phaethornis 249
Yuhina nigrimenta 160

zarumae, Thamnophilus 104—5, 234, 250
Zenaida asiatica 215

— auriculata 248
Zimmerius chrysops 251

xanthogaster, Euphonia 17, 107, 253
xanthogastra, Carduelis 255
xanthops, Amazona 31

Xenops minutus 15, 250 ai vilissimus 15

a Futilans! 250 zonaris, Streptoprocne 14, 248
Xiphocolaptes albicollis 211 zonarius, Barnardius 46

— promeropirhynchus 15, 250 Zonotrichia capensis 85, 107, 255
Xiphorhynchus erythropygius 250 Zosterops 162

— guttatus 15, 211 — japonica 163

CORRECTIONS TO TEXT

Page 2, line 48: Nesopiza not Neospiza

Page 15, line 21: Thamnophilus not Thamnopilus

Page 15, line 42: Mionectes not Mionectus

Page 17, line 27: schlegeli not schegeli

Page 24, line 46: furcifer not furcatus

Page 74, line 30: Anabacerthia not Anabercerthia

Page 106, line 20: ruficeps not rificeps

Page 106, line 36: Thryothorus not Thyrorthorus

Page 107, line 26: Thlypopsis not Thylpopsis

Page 159, lines 34 & 41: cyanouroptera not cyanuroptera
Page 160, lines 6 & 18: cyanouroptera not cyanuroptera
Page 162, line 31: cyanouroptera not cyanuroptera

Page 164, lines 10, 15 & 27: cyanouroptera not cyanuroptera
Page 189, line 39: coelebs not caelebs

Page 211, line 35: Empidonomus not Emipidonomus
(Page 233: blank page due to faulty arrangement of papers; no material omitted)
Page 238, line 21: ruficervix not rufivertex

Page 247, line 5: melanotos not melanotts

Page 248, line 51: Caprimulgus not Camprimulgus

Page 249, line 12: Thalurania not Thalaurania

Page 250, line 24: boissonneautii not boissoneautit

Page 253, line 39: leucocephalus not leucephalus

Page 254, line 15: Thlypopsis not Thylpopsis

Printed in Great Britain by Henry Ling Ltd., at the Dorset Press, Dorchester, Dorset

3 ISSN 0007-1595
Bulletin of the

British Ornithologists’ Club

ed Edited by
Dr D. W. SNOW

Volume114 No.1 March 1994

FORTHCOMING MEETINGS

Tuesday, 19 April 1994. John Wyatt J.P. will speak on “Birds of
Eastern Poland”’. John Wyatt is a naturalist, writer and photographer.
He leads wildlife tours in Europe and Africa and has a particular interest
in Poland. He was formerly a Deputy Director of Development of the
British Trust for Onithology.

Those wishing to attend are asked to notify the Hon. Secretary by
Tuesday, 5 April 1994*.

Asecond Club Visit to The Natural History Museum at Tring, for
those members who were unable to join the visit in June last year,
has been arranged for Friday 22 April 1994.

Those wishing to attend are asked to contact the Vice-Chairman, the
Reverend T. W. Gladwin, 99 Warren Way, Digswell, Welwyn,
Hertfordshire AL6 ODL (tel. 043 871 4700) as soon as possible.

Tuesday, 24 May 1994. Annual General Meeting at 6 p.m. followed
by the evening meeting when Dr Peter Lack will speak on “Birds
and Farming”. Dr Lack completed field studies in East Africa on
bird communities in Tsavo National Park for his doctorate and has
undertaken other field studies overseas. He is presently the Computer
Officer of the BTO. He is the compiler of The Atlas of Wintering Birds in
Britain and Ireland and is the author of the recently published Birds of
Lowland Farms. His talk will incorporate his own (published and
unpublished) and other recent BTO work.

Those wishing to attend are asked to notify the Hon. Secretary by
Tuesday, 10 May 1994*.

Tuesday, 19 July 1994. Mr Richard ffrench, author of The Birds
of Trinidad and Tobago, will speak on ‘Sounds of Birds in the
Neotropics’’.

Tuesday, 20 September 1994. We are delighted to welcome back Dr
Storrs Olson who will speak on ‘Seabirds of the North Atlantic
through 20 Million Years”’.

Meetings are held in the Sherfield Building of Imperial College, South
Kensington, London at 6.15 p.m. for 7 p.m. A map showing Imperial
College will be sent to members on request.

*Late acceptances and cancellations can usually be taken up to the
Thursday morning preceding a meeting, although members are asked to
accept by 14 days beforehand as arrangements for meetings have to be
confirmed with Imperial College well in advance. :

If you accept and subsequently find you are unable to attend please notify
the Hon. Secretary, 1 Uppingham Road, Oakham, Rutland LE15 67B
(tel. 0572 722788) as soon as possible as the booking can often be offered to
another member.

1 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

Bulletin of the
BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB

Vol. 114 No. 1 Published: 30 March 1994

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE FOR 1993

Meetings. Eleven meetings were held in 1993. Ten evening meetings
with a buffet supper were held at Imperial College; nine in the Ante-room
of the Sherfield Building and the September meeting in the pleasant
surroundings of the Rector’s House, at 170 Queensgate. In June a Club
visit was made to the Sub-department of Ornithology of The Natural
History Museum, at Tring. Members were able to enjoy the excellent
display of exhibits, some of particular interest to the Club, and were given
a comprehensive insight into the working of the Museum. (A full account
of this visit has appeared elsewhere in the Bulletin.) ‘The Club 1s especially
grateful to Mr Iain Bishop and Dr Robert Prys-Jones of The Natural
History Museum for organising the visit.

A total of 402 members and guests attended these meetings, a similar
number as for meetings in each of the last 5 years, excluding the particu-
larly high attendances of the 800th meeting, the meeting at the I.O.C. in
New Zealand and the Centenary Dinner.

During 1993 the programme of expert speakers presented a diversity of
subjects at meetings, and it was with particular pleasure that the Club was
able to welcome Abbé René de Naurois, Professor Charles Pilcher and Dr
Geoffrey Davison during their visits to Britain.

Committee. The Committee met 7 times in 1993 and the average
attendance was 78%.

The Committee has implemented the proposal, outlined in last year’s
Report, to use the income generated by the Herbert Stevens Fund to
finance additional publications particularly concerned with taxonomy
and systematics, which institutions 1n this country are unable to fund.
Number one of a series of Occasional Publications, edited by Dr J. F.
Monk, Extinct and Endangered Birds in the Collections of The Natural
History Museum by Alan Knox and Michael Walters, will be published in
April 1994. The Club gratefully acknowledges a loan of £1000 towards
the cost of its production from the Bird Exploration Fund.

Arrangements are in hand to continue to complete the stock of back
numbers for all years.

Deaths. It is with regret that the Committee reports the deaths of
P. J. Conder O.B.E. (Member 1952-1993, Committee 1982-1985), N.R.
Fuggles-Couchman (Member 1991-1993) and K. D. Pickford (Member
1948-1993).

Membership. Paid up membership at 31 December 1993 was 574, 347
members with U.K. addresses and 227 with addresses overseas. There
were 20 new members in 1993; 3 members who were in arrears became
paid up. 12 members resigned and 28 failed to pay their subscriptions.

Report of the Committee for 1993 2 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

The drop in membership noted in 1992 continued in 1993, perhaps re-
flecting the continued unfavourable economic climate. A new recruit-
ment leaflet has been produced and is being sent to each new member
elected to the Union.

Bulletin Sales. Non-member Subscribers were 128, 22 in the U.K.
and 106 overseas. Four new subcriptions were taken out but 23 Subs-
cribers in 1992 failed to renew their subscriptions. The reduction in the
number of Subscribers was noted in the Report of the Committee in 1991
and has also been noted by other learned societies. A new Subscribers’
leaflet is being prepared and a mail shot is planned for 1994.

The Committee records its thanks again to Mrs F. E. Warr who con-
tinues to look after the stock of back-numbers of the Bulletin, dealing with
their despatch and with that of separates for authors.

Bulletin. Volume 113 consisted of 264 pages, and contained 38
papers and 9 shorter (In Brief) contributions. Papers included descrip-
tions of 7 new subspecies, 6 Neotropical and 1 Afrotropical. New distri-
butional data were published for China, New Guinea, and 2 Central and
4 South American countries. Among a variety of papers of ecological or
behavioural interest may be mentioned a study of the extinction of the
Glaucous Macaw, linking it to its dependence on a few species of palms
whose fruit were suited to its bill size; the fullest account so far avail-
able of the behaviour and display of the spectacular Crimson Fruit-
crow of Amazonia; an account of a very high-altitude avifauna in a
little known part of New Guinea; and a detailed account of some aspects
of the behaviour and ecology of Cobb’s Wren of the Falkland Islands,
suggesting that it may deserve specific status. A long paper, published
in two parts, added very significantly to knowledge of the seriously
threatened and highly endemic avifauna of the border region between
northwestern Peru and southwestern Ecuador. Another paper of special
interest threw new light on the origin of the cosmetic colouration of the
plumage of the Bearded Vulture, now being re-introduced into the Alps,
and its dependence on particular geological deposits. There was the
usual variety of papers dealing with points of distribution, taxonomy
and nomenclature. The 70 contributors were from 14 countries and 5
continents.

Finance. Receipts from Club publications and goods continued at a
satisfactory level, including the sale of 71 copies of Avian Systematics and
Taxonomy and 31 copies of Birds, Discovery and Conservation.

Interest rates on the Club’s ordinary funds continued to fall during the
year, income from these sources now being significantly reduced from
that of recent years. The Giro account was closed in the fourth quarter,
and the Lloyds current account will be closed in January 1994, reducing
future bank charges.

The Trustees of the Herbert Stevens Fund have been managing the
monies arising from the sale of the property at Tring for almost one year.
The original sum handed to those Trustees was £144,953, which had
grown to £162,632 on the basis of ‘bid’ (i.e. selling) price by the year end.
Income earned during the year amounted to £6086, after the reclamation
of Income Tax, and it is estimated that the income will be £6329 in a full
year.

Annual General Meeting 3 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

The Accounts for 1993, which are not yet available, will be tabled at the
Annual General Meeting and published subsequently in the Bulletin.
Members wishing to have copies before the Annual General Meeting are
asked to apply to the Honorary Treasurer.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The Annual General Meeting of the British Ornithologists’ Club will be
held in the Ante-room, Sherfield Building, Imperial College, London
SW7 at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, 24 May 1994.

AGENDA

1. Minutes of the 1993 Annual General Meeting (see Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl.

113: 129-130).

Report of the Committee and Accounts for 1993.

The Bulletin.

The election of Officers. The Committee proposes that:-

(i) MrS. J. Farnsworth be re-elected Honorary Treasurer.
(ii) Mrs A. M. Moore be re-elected Honorary Secretary.
(111) Miss H. Baker be elected member of the Committee (vice Cdr.
M. B. Casement, O.B.E., RN (Retd) who retires by rotation).

5. Any other business of which notice shall have been given in accordance

with Rule (12).

a oe SS.

By Order of the Committee
AMBERLEY M. MOORE, Honorary Secretary

The eight hundred and thirty-third meeting of the Club was held on Tuesday, 19 October
1993 in the Ante-room of the Sherfield Building, Imperial College, South Kensington at
6.15 p.m. 21 Members and 14 Guests attended.

Members attending were: The Rev T. W. GLapwiIn (in the Chair), Dr C. F. MANN
(Speaker), M. A. Apcock, Cdr. M. K. Barritt RN, K. F. Betton, P. J. Butt,
D. R. CaLper, Dr M. J. CARSWELL, Cdr. M. B. CAsEMENT RN Retd., J. H. ELGoop, S. J.
FARNSWORTH, A. Gipss, R. H. Kettve, Dr J. F. Monk, Mrs A. M. Moors, R. G. Morcan,
Mrs M. Mutter, R. E. F. Peat, Dr N. J. SKINNER, N. H. F. STONE, K. V. THOMPSON.

Guests attending were: Mrs B. Apcock, Mrs J. CaLper, G. Dutson, Mrs F.
FARNSWORTH, R. FRANKUM, Mrs W. FRANKuM, Mrs J. GLapwin, J. B. HercHam, Mrs P.
HeicHam, Mrs D. Monk, P. J. Moore, Mrs A. Nason, R. RANFT, R. WILKINSON.

Dr Clive Mann, whois working ona B.O.U. checklist of the area, spoke on the avifauna of
Borneo. He opened his address with a brief overview of the geography, geology, topography
and climatic conditions of the Bornean realm. This was followed by a short illustrated
account of the main habitats. The last section of the address was a very brief summary of the
birds by systematic group, with an emphasis on endemics. The total avifauna comprises a
little over 600 species. This was accompanied by bird songs on tape, and slides of birds,
mostly in the hand.

A nest of the Sunda Frogmouth Batrachostomus cornutus was shown to the members as an
illustration for an anecdote about the unfortunate experiences of a pair of that species.

D. Gibbs 4 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

The eight hundred and thirty-fourth meeting of the Club was held on Tuesday, 2 November
1993 in the same place at 6.15 p.m. 25 Members and 5 Guests attended.

Members attending were: D. GRIFFIN (Chairman), R. P. Martins (Speaker), M. A.
Apcock, Miss H. Baker, Mrs D. Braptey, D. R. Carper, Dr M. J. CARSWELL, Professor
R. CHANDLER, Dr R. A. CHEKE, S. J. FARNSWorTH, A. Gisss, I. 'T. Lewis, Dr J. F. Monk,
D.J. Montier, Mrs A. M. Moore, R. G. MorGan, J. G. Parker, R. E. F. PEAL, R. C. PRICE,
Dr R. PrY¥s-JONEs, R. E. Scott, Dr D. W. SNow, N. H. F. Stone, A. R. TANNER and Mrs
F. E. Warr.

Guests attending were: Mrs B. Apcock, Mrs F. FaRNswortH, Mrs S. Lewis, Mrs M.
Montier and Mrs A. Scorr.

The subject of Mr Martins talk after supper was ‘“‘Where are the limits of the Western
Palearctic?’’. After pointing out that little recent attention has been given to the eastern
limits of the western Palearctic (admitted by the editors of Birds of the Western Palearctic to
be ‘largely arbitrary’’), he discussed in most detail the situation in the Middle East, where
there is a good case for including almost the whole of the Arabian peninsula, and the Zagros
and Elburz mountain ranges of Iran, in the western Palearctic. A full discussion of these and
other conclusions is 1n preparation.

Undescribed taxa and new records from the
Fakfak Mountains, Irian Jaya

by David Gibbs

Received 21 November 1992

The Fakfak Mountains on the Onin Peninsula in southwest Irian Jaya
are one of the ornithologically least known areas in New Guinea.
Doherty and Schadler collected there in 1896 and 1897 but did not
reach high elevations and collected just 10 montane species (Diamond
1985). Diamond spent several weeks in these mountains in 1981
reaching an altitude of 1290 m. Although he added greatly to our
knowledge of the birds of this range he did not reach the highest
altitudes, so many montane species remained undiscovered. The lack of
exploration is largely due to the extremely inhospitable nature of these
limestone mountains. There is almost no accessible water more than a
couple of kilometres inland and the terrain is very steep and broken.
Vertical cliffs, sheer-walled fissures and deep sink-holes are frequent
features of the landscape. ‘The human population of the Fakfak is very
low and almost entirely confined to the coast; the mountains are
uninhabited and trackless. The local inhabitants do not even venture
more than 4—5 km into the hills to hunt.

However in 1991 oil exploration teams cut numerous trails right
across the peninsula from coast to coast, building helipads at
approximately every 22 km. Most important, 44-gallon oil drums have
been left at the helipads and allowed to fill with rain-water, facilitating
travel in these mountains without mounting a large expedition. The
cut-line heads straight across the mountains, but wherever sheer cliffs
or very broken country is encountered, detour trails have been cut. The
helipads provide wonderful camp sites with a superb view of the

D. Gibbs 5 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

surrounding forest. From 31 August to 7 September 1992, I birded in
these mountains, using the new trails, and recorded 117 species, some
of which represent quite distinct, undescribed taxa.

From the coastal town, Kota Fakfak, we travelled by dugout to
Worsaret, a tiny village about 2 hours east of town. Close to Worsaret is
the southern end of ‘cut-line Hotel’, which I intended to follow to the
watershed. With two porters from Worsaret, I set off for my week-long
trek. After half an hour’s walking we left the cleared area around the
village and soon after entered undisturbed forest at about 100 m. The
first night we camped at Helipad 2 at about 600 m. The second day we
walked for 10 hours to cover the 6 km to Helipad 4 at about 1200 m,
where I stayed for two nights. On day 4 we walked for 7 hours to cover
3 very difficult and exhausting kilometres to Helipad 5 on the north
side of the watershed at about 1500 m. The summit, about two hours
before Helipad 5, is at approximately 1600 m. From here I returned to
Worsaret spending another night each at MHelipads 4 and 2.
Unfortunately I did not have an altimeter with me, so the heights given
above are very rough estimates.

My main reason for visiting the Fakfaks was to search for the Greater
Melampitta Melampitta gigantea which had been discovered here by
Diamond in 1981 (Diamond 1983). Unfortunately I failed completely
to locate the species, not even hearing anything fitting Diamond’s
description of the call. The Worsaret villagers were not familiar with
the Melampitta. This species was considered locally common near
Wanggasten by Diamond, just 20km east of ‘cut-line Hotel’. Its
absence here may be due to inadequate sink-holes and fissures at the
right altitude, although some were present along much of the trail and
the area between Helipads 4 and 5 seemed ideal. Alternatively, if the
bird is silent at this time of year, it would be almost impossible to
locate. It seems likely that this rare bird has very specialised
requirements even within the limestone terrain to which it is certainly
confined.

Generally the birding in this remote area was very rewarding. The
most striking characteristic of the avifauna was its confiding behaviour.
Throughout most of New Guinea, where birds have been heavily
hunted for thousands of years, getting good views of birds (or even
seeing them at all) can be exceedingly difficult. In the Fakfak most
passerines and even pigeons and raptors were readily attracted by
squeaking or by an imitation of their call, and would perch close by
apparently quite unperturbed by human presence. Even the Southern
Cassowary Casuarius casuarius only reluctantly walked away from me.
Many species were also more abundant than I am accustomed to
experiencing elsewhere in New Guinea. A number of the species listed
below clearly belong to undescribed races and some may merit specific
status. Several of these taxa were noted by Diamond in 1981 but a few
are entirely new records. My brief visit indicates that these much
neglected hills deserve the attention of a proper ornithological
expedition.

Taxonomy and nomenclature of the following list follow Sibley &
Monroe (1990).

D. Gibbs 6 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)
Potentially new taxa

SCLATER’S WHISTLER Pachycephala soror

Frequent from Helipad 4 to the summit. ‘These birds belong to an
unnamed race (Diamond 1985) and are quite different from the
nominate; head of male paler and greyer and breast-band very thin and
not always obvious.

LEMON-BREASTED BERRYPECKER Melanocharis longicauda

A few seen associated with feeding flocks between Helipads 4 and 5.
The birds here are quite distinct from those of the Arfak and Central
Ranges. Underparts are satiny-white rather than grey, more or less
washed with lemon-yellow on throat and breast and with lemon-yellow
pectoral tufts.

HONEYEATER Ptiloprora sp.

A honeyeater of this genus was seen daily in small numbers, mostly
above Helipad 4. ‘The only members of the genus known from the
Fakfak Mountains are P. erythropleura and perhaps P. plumbea. The
latter is a small species, unstreaked below and thus readily eliminated as
a possibility. ‘The birds I saw differ from P. erythropleura of the Arfak
in their larger size, distinct streaking on the underparts and complete
lack of rufous plumage on the flanks or elsewhere. Pectoral tufts rather
yellowish. Iris of at least some individuals appeared pale. Call typical of
the genus, pee-yooee. Overall these birds were more reminiscent of the
Grey-streaked Honeyeater P. perstriata. Ptiloprora honeyeaters
observed by Diamond (1985) in the Fakfak and Kumawa Mountains
were presumably the same as I have described above. As no specimens
have been trapped or collected the identity of these birds must remain
undetermined.

HONEYEATER Melipotes sp.

Another very distinct and, as yet, undescribed form. Diamond
(1985) tentatively placed these birds with M. fumigatus on the basis of
three sightings. ‘To me the plumage of these birds appeared closer to
M. gymnops being pale, off-white on belly and undertail coverts but
lacking the dark streaking of that species. However the yellow/red eye
skin differs from both these species being very similar in structure to
that of M. ater of the Huon Mountains. Below and just behind the
eye the bare skin is produced into a long ‘ear’ such that in profile the
‘ear’ on the opposite side of the head to the observer is easily visible.
I have not observed such a striking elongation of the eye wattle in
any race of either M. fumigatus or M. gymnops. In the field this
undescribed bird appears to be as distinct from both M. fumigatus
and M. gymnops as they are from each other. The possibility that it
represents a fourth allospecies in the Melipotes complex is worth
investigation.

(VOGELKOP) BOWERBIRD Amblyornis ? inornatus
Frequently heard and seen between Helipads 4 and 5. Several
bowers seen. Currently this population is assigned to A. inornatus

D. Gibbs 7 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

(Beehler et al. 1986, Sibley & Monroe 1990). However, as described
by Diamond (1984, 1985), the birds of the Kukmawa and Fakfak
Mountains construct a quite different type of bower. The Arfak,
Tamrau and Wandammen birds build large, elaborate hut-like bowers
1 m high and 1.6 m in diameter with a wide door along one side and a
lawn of moss decorated with fruits, flowers, leaves and, often, any
rubbish of the right colour (Fig. 1a). Orange, blue and black items are
selected, each being placed in discrete piles. Fakfak and Kumawa birds
build a bower of the maypole type with a central column of sticks built
around a sapling to a height of about 2m (Fig 1b). Sometimes a
subsidiary column is built around an adjacent sapling, coverging with
the main one above. At the base of the main column a mat of black
fibrous roots, about 1 min diameter, covers the ground. This mat is built
up around the base of the column but no raised perimeter ring is present.
Bowers were ornamented outside the mat of roots with discrete piles of
large gastropod shells all of the same species and of much the same size,
black bamboo leaf sheaths and small white limestone rocks. The latter,
so the Worsaret villagers informed me, are only to be found in wells. As
water is very scarce in these limestone hills, such stones are rare items for
which the birds must travel far.

The Fakfak birds look very like those of the Arfak, but are slightly
darker above and more fulvous below. So similar are they that these
two populations have not even been separated as races. However, it is
impossible to believe that so elaborate and time consuming a structure
as a bower is not a far more significant genetic isolator than any features
of plumage or song in this genus. The behaviour of the male and, by
inference, the preferences of the females, have surely diverged too far
for these two populations to be considered conspecific.

(LONG-TAILED) PARADIGALLA Paradigalla ? carunculata

Two birds, presumably this species, were seen close to the highest
altitude reached between Helipads 4 and 5. No representative of this
genus has previously been found in either the Fakfak or the adjacent
Kumawa Mountains. Both birds differed from P. carunculata in the
very much paler yellow/white facial wattle; more swollen, paler blue
malar wattle; lack of red malar wattle (this is often not visible in Arfak
P. carunculata) and shorter, square-cut tail extending just 3—4 cm
beyond the wing tip (Fig. 1, c-e). This approximates to half the length
of the graduated tail of typical P. carunculata. No vocalisations were
heard. These birds are clearly an undescribed taxon which seems to be
intermediate between P. carunculata and P. brevicauda and I have only
presumed them to be the former from their range. Whether this
population is conspecific with one of the above species or constitutes a
separate species will only be answered by further research. The
existence of an intermediate form may suggest that the two known
paradigallas are the extreme ends of a cline within a single species.

Other species recorded inland
SOUTHERN CASSOWARY Casuarius casuarius. One seen between Helipads 2 and 4.
Still common here from the beginning of the forest above Worsaret almost to the altitude
of Helipad 4.

D. Gibbs 8 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

c “~ d
Figure 1. (a) Bower of Vogelkop Bowerbird Amblyornis inornatus; Arfak Mountains. (b)
Bower of bowerbird Amblyornis sp.; Fakfak Mountains. (c) Short-tailed Paradigalla

Paradigalla brevicauda; Central Ranges. (d) Paradigalla sp.; Fakfak Mountains. (e)
Long-tailed Paradigalla P. carunculata; Arfak Mountains.

D. Gibbs 9 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

LONG-TAILED HONEY-BUZZARD Henicopernis longicauda. One at Helipad 4.
GREY GOSHAWKEK Accipiter novaehollandiae. One white-phase bird seen at Helipad 5.
GREY-HEADED GOSHAWK Accipiter poliocephalus. One at Helipad 4.
SLENDER-BILLED CUCKOO-DOVE Macropygia amboinensis A few seen and heard
between Helipads 2 and 4.

BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO-DOVE M™. nigrirostris. Frequent from Helipad 2 to the
highest altitude reached.

GREAT CUCKOO-DOVE Reinwardtoena reinwardts1. Singles seen from Helipad 2 to the
highest altitude reached.

STEPHAN’S DOVE Chalcophaps stephani. Singles seen between Helipads 2 and 4.
WESTERN CROWNED-PIGEON Goura cristata. Two flushed up 2-3 km inland.
WOMPOO FRUIT-DOVE Piilinopus magnificus. Heard in lowlands between Worsaret
and Helipad 2.

ORNATE FRUIT-DOVE P. ornatus. Frequent from Helipad 2 to 4. These birds belong
with one of the yellow-capped races (presumably P. 0. Raporensis) and not with the
purple-capped nominate of the northern part of the Vogelkop.

SUPERB FRUIT-DOVE P. superbus. Singles seen at Helipad 4.

WHITE-BIBBED FRUIT-DOVE P. rivoli. Common from above Helipad 2 to the
summit.

PURPLE-TAILED IMPERIAL-PIGEON Ducula rufigaster. Heard between Worsaret
and Helipad 2.

PINON IMPERIAL-PIGEON D. pinon. Heard at Helipad 2.

BANDED IMPERIAL-PIGEON D. zoeae. Below and at Helipad 2.

PAPUAN MOUNTAIN-PIGEON Gymnophaps albertisi. Frequent near Helipad 5.
DUSKY LORY Pseudeos fuscata. Flocks of 30 plus flying over at Helipads 4 and 5 anda
few singles at Helipad 2.

BLACK-CAPPED LORY Lorius lory. Heard below Helipad 2.

FAIRY LORIKEET Charmosyna pulchella. Several seen around Helipads 4 and 5.
PALM COCKATOO Probosciger aterrimus. Frequent from coast to Helipad 2.
SULPHUR-CRESTED COCKATOO Cacatua galerita. Common below Helipad 2.
ECLECTUS PARROT Eclectus roratus. A few near the coast.

MOLUCCAN KING-PARROT Alisterus amboinensis. Heard below Helipad 2.

BRUSH CUCKOO Cacomantis variolosus. Heard below Helipad 2.
CHESTNUT-BREASTED CUCKOO C. castaneiventris. Often heard and a few seen
between Helipad 2 and the summit.

WHITE-EARED BRONZE-CUCKOO Chrysococcyx meyer. Singles seen between
Helipads 2 and 4.

GREATER BLACK COUCAL Centropus menbek1. Several calling after dusk at Helipad 4.
LESSER SOOTY-OWL Tyto multipunctata. Heard nightly at Helipads 4 and 5; readily
came in to whistled imitation of call at the former camp.

RUFOUS OWL WNinox rufa (?). A Ninox heard at Helipad 4 was presumed to be this
species.

JUNGLE HAWK-OWL WNinox theomacha. Singles heard at Helipads 2 and 4.
MARBLED FROGMOUTH Podargus ocellatus. Many calling at Helipad 2 and one at
Helipad 4.

UNIFORM SWIFTLET Collocalia vanikorensis. Frequent from the coast to Helipad 4.
GLOSSY SWIFTLET C. esculenta. Frequent at all altitudes.

RED-BREASTED PARADISE-KINGFISHER Tanysiptera nympha. One of these
beautiful kingfishers seen in the disturbed forest near the clearing surrounding Worsaret.
HOOK-BILLED KINGFISHER WMelidora macrorrhina. Heard every evening from
Worsaret to my highest camp at Helipad 5.

RUFOUS-BELLIED KOOKABURRA Dacelo gaudichaud. Recorded near Worsaret.
YELLOW-BILLED KINGFISHER Syma torotoro. Frequently heard and several seen
from Worsaret to Helipad 4.

RAINBOW BEE-EATER WMerops ornatus. Noted at Worsaret and Helipad 4.

BLYTH’S HORNBILL Aceros plicatus. Small numbers noted from the lowlands to the
highest altitude reached.

RED-BELLIED PITTA Pitta erythrogaster. One heard between Worsaret and Helipad 2.
STOUT-BILLED CUCKOO-SHRIKE Coracina caeruleogrisea. A few seen from Helipad
4 to the summit.

BLACK-SHOULDERED CICADABIRD C-. incerta. One seen in a mixed species flock
between Helipads 2 and 4.

D. Gibbs 10 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

BLACK-BELLIED CUCKOO-SHRIKE C. montana. One of the commoner species from
Helipad 2 to the highest altitudes.

ISLAND LEAF-WARBLER Phylloscopus poliocephalus. Occasionally found in mixed
species flocks between Helipads 4 and 5.

RUSTY MOUSE-WARBLER Crateroscelis murina. Often heard and a few seen up to
Helipad 4.

MOUNTAIN MOUSE-WARBLER C. robusta. Several seen at the highest altitudes
between Helipads 4 and 5. Found by Diamond (1985) in the Kumawa Mountains but not
previously in the Fakfak.

PALE-BILLED SCRUBWREN Sericornis spilodera. Occasionally met with between
Worsaret and Helipad 4.

PERPLEXING SCRUBWREN 5S. wirgatus. A pari seen between Helipads 2 and 4.
GREY-GREEN SCRUBWREN S. arfakianus. Seen daily between Helipad 2 and the
highest altitude reached.

MOUNTAIN GERYGONE Gerygone cinerea. Singles seen between Helipads 4 and

5).

YELLOW-BELLIED GERYGONE G. chrysogaster. Heard between Worsaret and
Helipad 2.

FAIRY GERYGONE G. palpebrosa. Singles noted between Worsaret and Helipad 4.
BROWN-BREASTED GERYGONE G. ruficollis. Frequent from Helipad 4 to the
summit.

RUFOUS-BACKED FANTAIL Rhipidura rufidorsa. One seen in secondary scrub near
Worsaret.

BLACK FANTAIL R. atra. A common and conspicuous bird from Helipad 2 to the
summit.

FRIENDLY FANTAIL R. albolimbata. Frequent at the higher altitudes between
Helipads 4 and 5.

NORTHERN FANTAIL R. rufiventris. Recorded between Worsaret and Helipad 2.
BLACK MONARCH Monarcha axillaris. Seen on two occasions between Helipads 2 and
Sy

BLACK-WINGED MONARCH W™. frater. A couple in a mixed species flock between
Worsaret and Helipad 2.

SPOT-WINGED MONARCH M™. guttulus. A few between Worsaret and Helipad 2,
usually in mixed species flocks.

GOLDEN MONARCH WM. chrysomela. A couple seen in mixed species flock between
Worsaret and Helipad 2.

FRILLED MONARCH 4rses telescophthalmus. Singles noted from near Worsaret to as
high as Helipad 4.

BLACK-BREASTED BOATBILL Machaerirhynchus nigripectus. Seen on a couple of
occasions between Helipads 4 and 5.

YELLOW-LEGGED FLYROBIN Microeca griseoceps. One seen between Helipads 2 and
4.

CANARY FLYROBIN M. papuana. A pair seen at the summit.

WHITE-FACED ROBIN Tregellasia leucops. Several seen in a rather narrow altitudinal
band between Helipads 2 and 4.

BLACK-SIDED ROBIN Poecilodryas hypoleuca. Fairly frequent between Worsaret and
Helipad 2.

OLIVE-YELLOW ROBIN P. placens. Three or four singing birds present within a
narrow altitudinal band, just above the upper limit of the last species, half way between
Worsaret and Helipad 2.

BLUE-GREY ROBIN Peneothello cyanus. Frequent between Helipad 4 and the summit.
One heard between Helipads 2 and 4.

REGENT WHISTLER Pachycephala schlegelii. A few individuals seen near the summit.
GREY WHISTLER P. griseiceps. A few in feeding flocks between Worsaret and Helipad
De

RUFOUS-NAPED WHISTLER Aleadryas rufinucha. One seen close to the summit
between Helipads 4 and 5.

LITTLE SHRIKE-THRUSH Colluricincla megarhyncha. Found in bamboo stands
between Helipads 2 and 4.

VARIABLE PITOHUI Pitohui kirhocephalus. Frequent at lower altitudes below Helipad
De

HOODED PITOHUI P. dichrous. Common from Helipad 2 to Helipad 4.

D. Gibbs 11 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

RUSTY PITOHUI P. ferrugineus. Several groups seen between Worsaret and Helipad 4,
sometimes in mixed species flocks.

CRESTED PITOHUI P. cristatus. The incredible song of this species occasionally heard
between Worsaret and Helipad 4.

BLACK PITOHUI P. nigrescens. Two females seen close to the summit between
Helipads + and 5. A much darker earthy-brown above than other races, warmer brown
below and quite ochreous on the under tail coverts.

BLACK BERRYPECKER WMelanocharis nigra. Noted between Worsaret and Helipad 2.
OLIVE-CROWNED FLOWERPECKER Dicaeum pectorale. Occasionally seen between
Helipads 2 and 4.

CAPPED WHITE-EYE Zosterops fuscicapillus. Frequent between Helipads 4 and 5.
OLIVE STRAIGHTBILL Timeliopsis fulvigula. A few in a feeding flock near Helipad 4.
LONG-BILLED HONEYEATER Melilestes megarhynchus. One bird seen between
Helipads 4 and 5.

GREEN-CROWNED LONGBILL Toxorhamphus novaeguineae. Singles noted between
Worsaret and Helipad 4.

PLUMED LONGBILL T. iliolophus. Singles seen at Helipad 4 and below Helipad 2.
RED MYZOMELA Myzomela cruentata. Several seen around Helipads 4 and 5.
RED-COLLARED MYZOMELA Myzomela rosenbergi. Frequent from Helipad 4 to the
highest altitude reached.

VOGELKOP MELIDECTES WMelidectes leucostephes. Two sightings at and near Helipad
4. Diamond (1985) discovered this species in the Kumawa mountains but not in the
Fakfaks.

PYGMY DRONGO Chaetorhynchus papuensis. One seen at Helipad 4.

GREAT WOOD-SWALLOW Artamus maximus. Several seen soaring over Helipad 4.
MOUNTAIN PELTOPS Peltops montanus. Singles below Helipad 2 and between
Helipads 2 and 4.

SPOTTED CATBIRD Ajiluroedus melanotis. Heard between Helipads 2 and 4.
CRINKLE-COLLARED MANUCODE Manucodia chalybata. Two birds seen in a
fruiting tree at Helipad 5.

TRUMPET MANUCODE WM. keraudrenitz. Heard between Worsaret and Helipad 4.
MAGNIFICENT RIFLEBIRD Piiloris magnificus. Males calling through the day from
just above Worsaret to the highest altitudes reached. A few female plumaged birds seen in
mixed species flocks.

BLACK-BILLED SICKLEBILL Epimachus albertisi. Frequently heard and several seen
from Helipad 4 to 5. This is the first record from the Fakfak. The single female bird
trapped by Diamond (1985) in the Kumawa Mountains he attributed to E. a. albertist.
However the voice of the Fakfak bird differs markedly from the nominate birds of the
Arfak Mountains. Arfak birds give a Whimbrel-like call lasting 3-4 seconds, rising in
volume and slightly accelerating. The call heard in the Fakfak was more of a series of
down-slurred whistles slightly decelerating and much less rapidly delivered, rather
reminiscent of a slowed-down yafHle of a Green Woodpecker Picus viridis.

KING BIRD-OF-PARADISE Cicinnurus regius. Heard in the first few kilometers of
forest above Worsaret.

MAGNIFICENT BIRD-OF-PARADISE C. magnificus. Males very commonly heard and
female plumaged birds often seen from below Helipad 2 to the highest altitude reached.
LESSER BIRD-OF-PARADISE Paradisaea minor. Heard between Worsaret and Helipad

De
GREY CROW Corvus tristis. Frequent from the coast to the highest altitude reached.

Acknowledgements

I am particularly grateful to Roger Gruys who visited the area just before me and
furnished me with much useful information; also to my guides/porters Eddy, Agus and
Yohanis who worked hard and were good company.

References:

Beehler, B. M., Pratt, T. K. & Zimmerman, D. A. 1986. Birds of New Guinea. Princeton
Univ. Press.

Diamond, J. M. 1983. Melampitta gigantea: a possible relationship between feather
structure and underground roosting habits. Condor 85: 89-91.

P. Gregory 12 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

Diamond, J. M. 1984. The bower builders. Discover 5 (no. 6): 52-58.
Diamond, J. M. 1985. New distributional records and taxa from the outlying mountain
ranges of New Guinea. Emu 85: 65-91.

Sibley, C. G. & Monroe, B. L., Jr. 1990. Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World.
Yale Univ. Press.

Address: David Gibbs, 28 Blackamoor Lane, Maidenhead, Berks SL6 8RD, U.K.
© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

Notes on new and scarce birds in the Falkland

Islands 1988-1990

by Phil Gregory
Received 17 November 1992

The status and history of birds in the Falkland Islands have been
well documented by Woods (1988), but records after publication of
that book require summary. This paper lists my own observations
and those of both local residents and visitors, which I collected from
November 1988 to December 1990 whilst resident in the islands. My
wildlife column in the Penguin News, the local newspaper, was a
useful contact point for the collection of sightings that might
otherwise have gone undocumented, and the introduction of a
telephone system throughout the islands in 1989 was also invaluable
for these purposes. Many local people take an interest in birds and
anything strange is soon noted.

This paper notes the first occurrence in the Falkland Islands of
Snares Island Penguin Eudyptes robustus, Royal Penguin Eudyptes
(chrysolophus) schlegeli, Georgian Diving-petrel Pelecanoides georgicus,
Long-winged Harrier Curcus buffon, Greater Yellowlegs Tringa
melanoleuca and Sand Martin Riparia riparia. A number of other
vagrants are detailed.

Potential colonists are also noted, with breeding season records of
Great Grebe Podiceps major, Red Shoveler Anas platalea, White-
winged Coot Fulica leucoptera and Rufous-collared Sparrow Junco
capensis. The latter species seems to be occurring much more often in
the west, and 1s a likely colonist. Over-wintering of Red Shoveler and
Buff-necked Ibis Theristicus caudatus is documented, and the first
breeding records of Barn Owl Tyto alba are given.

The observations are my own unless credited to other observers,
chief of whom are Dr Bill Bourne (WRPB). Alan Henry (AH),
Michael Morrison (MM), Dave Osborn (DO), and Commander Mike
Winter (MW). The following codes give an indication of status at the
Falkland Islands; V, vagrant; PM, passage migrant. Other status is as
noted.

P. Gregory 13 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

Systematic list

CHIN-STRAP PENGUIN Pygoscelis antarctica

An annual vagrant in recent years. One at Penguin Walk in Dec 88.
One on Saunders Island 23 Nov 1989 amongst a Gentoo Penguin P.
papua colony (DO). A single moulting bird was at the tip of Cape
Pembroke 14 Apr 1990.

ROYAL PENGUIN Eudyptes (chrysolophus) schlegeli

Ian Strange (pers. comm.) reports several birds in a Rockhopper
Penguin E. chrysocome colony on West Falkland, an astonishing range
extension from Macquarie Island. Dates and details could not be
obtained but the record is now published in Strange (1992).

SNARES CRESTED PENGUIN E. robustus V

Ian Strange showed me a photograph of an erect-crested penguin
species in a Rockhopper colony on West Falkland, which he identified
as being a Snares Crested Penguin, an amazing vagrant from New
Zealand. The bird was at the Settlement rookery on New Island on 10
Dec 1988, for a single day only; seen and photographed by 'T. Lomey
(1990).

It is worth speculating whether odd individuals of antipodean
penguins wander more widely than is realized, given previous Falkland
records of two such species: Fiordland Crested Penguin E.
pachyrhynchus, considered doubtful by Woods with provenance and
exact 19th century date uncertain, and Erect-crested Penguin E. sclateri
on West Point Island in 1961-66, paired with a Rockhopper and twice
attempting nesting.

GREAT GREBE Podiceps major Annual vagrant

One in non-breeding dress, Pebble Island 4 Dec 1988 (J. Reid). One
in partial breeding dress, Beaver Pond, Pebble Island 18-19 Dec 1988.
Two birds off Port Howard for much of Feb—Mar 1988 (local

observers).

ROYAL ALBATROSS Diomedea epomophora PM
10 on 3 Feb 1989 in Berkeley/Falkland Sounds. 2 adults of the race
epomophora oft Saunders Is. 5 Feb 1989.

GREY-HEADED ALBATROSS Diomedea chrysostoma PM
An adult off Kidney Is. 27 Nov 1988, and an adult in Berkeley Sound
25 Jan 1989.

LIGHT-MANTLED SOOTY ALBATROSS Phoebetria palpebrata Vv
An adult flew E past Hookers Point during a gale on 15 Dec 1990
(AH).

NORTHERN GIANT PETREL Macronectes halli Status uncertain
Despite careful looking, I was able to make no definite identifications
of this species, which has bred on Beauchene Island. The numerous

P. Gregory 14 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

birds at Stanley butchery outfall were always Southern Giant Petrels
M. giganteus. I had several strong probables of M. halli, e.g. on Carcass
Is. 9 Sept 1989 and 8 Sept 1990, and also some birds of intermediate
form off Christina Bay on 15 Sept 1990. These had narrow white
leading edges to the wing, pale bodies and horn-coloured bills with
dark tips. Nesting colonies of Giant Petrels on Sea-lion and Pebble
Islands were all MW. giganteus. ‘The Northern Giant Petrel is clearly very
scarce in the islands and should be identified with great care.

ANTARCTIC PETREL Thalassoica antarctica Vv

A single bird killed by a Peregrine Falco peregrinus between
Brookfield and Port Louis on 15 Sept 1990. Michael Morrison brought
me the corpse, which had no black trailing edge to the secondaries, and
only a narrow dark tip to the single remaining tail feather. Presumably
the bird’s feathers were heavily abraded. The bill was dark grey and the
legs and feet dirty pink. ‘The fifth record for the islands.

SOFT-PLUMAGED PETREL Pterodroma mollis Probably annual PM

5+ off Cape Pembroke on 1 Apr 1990. Observations at sea by MW
and WRPB were of 50 within the 200 mile limit on 5 Feb 1990, and 17
110-150 km ESE of Cape Pembroke on 24 Feb 1990. Likely to be an
annual visitor as suggested by Woods.

GREAT-WINGED PETREL Pterodroma macroptera V
One between 110 and 150 km ESE of Cape Pembroke on 5 Feb 1990
(MW, WRPB). The third record.

ANTARCTIC PRION Pachyptila desolata Uncertain, perhaps regular

Hundreds during the morning of 4 Feb 1990 en route from Punta
Arenas to Stanley and nearing the edge of the 200 mile limit. Around
mid-day this species was replaced by the 'Thin-billed Prion.

THIN-BILLED PRION P. belcheri Breeder on West Falkland

Thousands during the afternoon of 4 Feb 1990 as we entered
Falkland waters en route from Punta Arenas to Stanley, replacing the
flocks of Antarctic Prion seen earlier. One bird had a marked buffish tip
to the tail, similar to Blue Petrel Halobaena caerulea pattern but lacking
distinctive head markings and otherwise being typical of P. belchert. A
second bird had a narrow pale tip to the tail.

GREY PETREL Procellaria cinerea V
One 110-150 km ESE of Cape Pembroke on 24 Feb 1990 (MW,
WRPB).

GREAT SHEARWATER Puffinus gravis Scarce breeder

13 off Kidney Is. 28 Dec 1988; c. 20 in Berkeley Sound 21 Jan 1989;
2 off Cape Pembroke 8 Dec 1989; 2 off E. Falkland 30 Dec 1989; and 1
there 5 Feb 1990. 40 110-150 km ESE of Cape Pembroke 24 Feb 1990
(MW, WRPB). 1 off Cape Pembroke 10 Mar 1990; 15 off Christina Bay
22 Apr 1990; 1 off Cape Pembroke 28 Apr 1990.

P. Gregory 15 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

MANX SHEARWATER Puffinus puffinus V
A single bird within Falkland waters on 5 Feb 1990 (MW, WRPB).
The third record to date.

LITTLE SHEARWATER Puffinus assimilis V

One on 24 Feb 1990 110-150km ESE of Cape Pembroke, and
another on 3 Mar 1990 185 km ESE of Cape Pembroke (MW, WRPB).
The second and third records.

WHITE-BELLIED STORM PETREL Fregetta grallaria V

One on 24 Feb 1990 110-150 km ESE of Cape Pembroke (MW,
WRPB) was the third sighting within territorial waters (cf. Woods
1988).

GREY-BACKED STORM-PETREL Garrodia nereis Scarce breeder

Only two records of this uncommon species: one in Falkland Sound
3 Feb 1989, and one at sea off West Falkland 4 Feb 1990. In addition,
remains of single birds were found on Kidney Is. during the breeding
seasons of both 1989 and 1990, suggesting that nesting still occurs there
despite a lack of live sightings.

GEORGIAN DIVING-PETREL Pelecanoides georgicusV, perhaps overlooked

A dead bird picked up at Stanley swimming pool on 31 Mar 1990 had
been present since 26 Mar (Willie Harvey); specimen sent to BAS. The
first record for the islands, but it could easily be overlooked as field
identification is impossible. A small wreck of seabirds occurred around
this time, with 2 Sooty Shearwaters Puffinus griseus and a Common
Diving-petrel P. urinatrix being picked up in the same vicinity. They
may have been attracted by the lights of the newly completed
swimming pool.

MAGELLAN DIVING-PETREL P. magellani V

A single bird of what appeared to be this species came abroad the
M.V. Stena Seaspread in Falkland Sound during foggy weather in
mid-June 1990. Commander Mike Winter caught and photographed
the bird, which showed the broad white half-collar typical of P.
magellani. The species is only known from two records of birds in 1888
and 1930, and a couple of sight records in 1984. It perhaps occurs much
more often than is realised. WRPB (in litt) informs me that the 1888
specimen is actually a misidentified Common Diving-petrel, making

MW’s bird the fourth for the Falklands.

COCOI HERON Ardea cocot Vv

One at Dupree Harbour late May 1989, and perhaps the same bird at
Monty Dean’s Creek on 9 Sept 1989 (MM); 1 at Cow Bay 5 Oct 1989
(J. and G. Smith); 1 at Albemarle Creek, West Falkland, 29 Oct 1989
(G. Whatley); 1 at Estancia 6 May 1990 (A. Heathman) and maybe the
same bird at Moody Brook 14 May 1990 (G. Cheek). Birds can clearly
survive for long periods at favourable sites. All these records could
refer to a single individual.

P. Gregory 16 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

SNOWY EGRET Egvetta thula V
One at Bertha’s Pond 21 May 1989 (D. Munns) was the 4th record
for the Falklands.

CATTLE EGRET Bubulcus ibis PM, first recorded 1976
No records in 1989, but a small influx in 1990, with records of up to
7 birds at various localities between 23 Mar and 6 May.

BUFF-NECKED IBIS Theristicus caudatus Annual vagrant

A long-staying individual on Cape Pembroke from June to 25 Dec
1989 at least (Father J. Doran and many observers). 1 at Fitzroy 16
Sept 1990, 1 at Shallow Harbour mid-Oct 1990 (M. Marsh), 1 at Port
Edgar 21 Oct 1990 (M. and A. Alazia), 2 on Pebble Is. Oct 1990 (J.
Reid).

ROSEATE SPOONBILL Ajaja ajaja V

A single bird at Monty Dean’s Bridge 29 May-1 Jun 1989, and a
dead bird found in late August about a mile from the bridge,
presumably the same individual (MM). The fifth record; two of the
previous birds have also been found dead.

CHILEAN FLAMINGO Phoenicopterus chilensis V
One at Fox Point in Feb 1989 (Mrs Brindall) was the 4th record for
the islands.

COSCOROBA SWAN Coscoroba coscoroba V
No records in the period 1988-90, contra the statement in Strange
(1992): “probably resident, breeding not yet confirmed’’.

FERAL GOOSE Anser anser Introduced resident, increasing

Odd birds were seen around Stanley in the period; also 15 on Sea
Lion Is. 17 Jan 1989, 15 on Carcass Is. 9 Sept 1989 and 20 there 9 Sept
1990, with a clutch of 6 eggs in one nest. White-plumaged individuals
are frequent and are sometimes reported as Coscoroba Swans. This
feral species is not listed in Strange (1992).

ASHY-HEADED GOOSE Chloephaga poliocephala Annual vagrant
One at Port Louis 15 Sept 1990 (MM); one at Penguin Walk 11-13
Oct 1990 (AH), and one on Sea Lion Is. in early Oct 1990.

MALLARD Anas platyrhynchos Failed introduction
No records of feral stock in the period. Domestic ducks in Stanley
resemble Mallard.

CINNAMON TEAL Anas cyanoptera Annual vagrant in recent years

Three pairs on Pebble Island in Dec 1988 (J. Reid); 1 male Carcass
Is. 9 Sept 1989; 1 female Surf Bay pond 15-16 Oct 1989; 1 male Cape
Pembroke 21-26 Nov 1989 (DO); 1 female airstrip ponds 25 Dec 1989
(DO); 2 females Carcass Is. 9 Sept 1990 (very wild, almost certainly
newly arrived); 1 male Betts Pond, Pebble Is. 23 Dec 1990 and the male

P. Gregory 17 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

plus a pair there 27 Dec 1990. The presence of pairs in the breeding
season is noteworthy.

RED SHOVELER Anas platalea Annual vagrant in recent years
One female Pebble Is. Dec 1988 (J. Reid); 1 male Sea Lion Is. 14
Nov 1989 (DO); 1 pair Stanley airstrip ponds 15-19 Dec 1989 (G.
Bound), and a female there 25 Dec 1989 (DO); 4 males and 1 female
Bertha’s Beach track Pond 31 Mar 1990, and over-wintered (MW); 1
female Long Pond, Pebble Is. 26 Dec 1990. The occurrence of
over-wintering birds and pairs suggests the possibility of breeding.

LONG-WINGED HARRIER Circus buffoni V

A single dark-morph bird near Stanley on 25 Feb 1989 was the first
for the Falklands. Confusion with the dark phase of Red-backed Hawk
Buteo polyosoma is possible on a poor view, but the bird was seen at
close range for some minutes.

AMERICAN KESTREL Falco sparverius Vv

A female at Port Louis 25 Feb—6 Apr 1989 (MM), which returned on
17 May and remained until 30 Aug; also a female seen at Brookfield and
Long Is. during this time, perhaps the same individual. An immature
male at Moody Brook 14-27 May 1989. Successful overwintering of
vagrant birds, as suggested by Woods, is proven by the Port Louis
individual.

CHIMANGO CARACARA Milvago chimango V

One on Cape Pembroke in autumn 1988 (AH) is the third or fourth
record.

WHITE-WINGED COOT Fulica leucoptera V
One present on Betts Pond, Pebble Is. on 18 Dec 1988, and another
on Beaver Pond the same day.

SOUTHERN LAPWING Vanellus chilensis Annual vagrant

One at Brookfield 1 Aug to Nov 1989; a second bird arrived 9 Sept
1989 but did not stay (M. Morrison). Single birds Stanley Common 13
Aug 1989 (AH), Beaver Is. 20 Nov 1990 (D. Poncet), and Sea Lion Is.
24 Nov 1990 (P. Watts).

TAWNY-THROATED DOTTEREL Eudromias ruficollis Vv

One on Stanley Common 15 Sep 1989 (S. Gregory) was the third for
the islands.

WHIMBREL Numemuius phaeopus PM, a few overwintering

Twelve on Wreck Point, Pebble Is., 19 Dec 1988 had over-wintered
(J. Reid); also 2 on Carcass Is. Sep 1989 (R. McGill), 1 on Cape
Pembroke 16 Oct 1989, and 1 on Sand Point, Pebble Is., 25 Dec 1990.

P. Gregory 18 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

GREATER YELLOWLEGS Tvinga melanoleuca V

One at the Frying Pan near Mt. Pleasant from 11 Nov to at least 5
Dec 1989. The first for the Falklands.

SANDERLING Calidris alba PM
81 on Bertha’s Beach 14 Nov 1989 (DO), the maximum recorded for
the islands.

BAIRD’S SANDPIPER Calidris bairdii V, probably annual

May be much overlooked amongst the flocks of White-rumped
Sandpipers C. fuscicollis. The following were recorded, all 1989: 2 ad
Surf Bay 23 Jan; 1 juv Surf Bay 2 Feb; 4 (2 ad, 2 juv) Canache 10 Oct;
1 ad Surf Bay 16 Oct and 2 ad there next day; 1 Bertha’s Beach 29 Oct
and 2 there 4 Nov (DO).

LEAST SEEDSNIPE Thinocorus rumicivorus V
A female at Gipsy Cove on 1 Oct 1989 (AH). The 8th record for the
islands, but quite likely much overlooked.

SOUTH POLAR SKUA Catharacta maccormicki W
One on the sea off Cape Pembroke on 10 Mar 1990, later heading off
north. Few records, but may be much overlooked.

ARCTIC TERN Sterna paradisaea Rare PM

An adult in non-breeding dress flew S past Cape Pembroke on 15
Nov 1990. Suspected on several other occasions at passage periods but
this was my only confirmed sighting.

COMMON TERN Sterna hirundo V

One in non-breeding dress at Bertha’s Beach on 4 Nov 1989 (DO).
The second record for the islands. Common or Arctic Terns are
recorded off Cape Pembroke at passage periods each year, generally
distant.

ANTARCTIC TERN Sterna vittata PM

An adult in breeding dress 21 Oct 1989 in Port William; 16 at Cape
Pembroke 6 Nov (DM, DO) and 5 there 7 Dec 1989 (DO); 1 at
Bertha’s Beach 11 Dec and 4 there 27 Dec 1989 (DO); 1 ad in breeding
dress at Surf Bay 4 Nov 1990; 20+ off Kidney Is. and a first-winter
bird dead on the beach, 25 Nov 1990.

Strange (1992) lists this species as a vagrant, but these observations
suggest a regular passage. The species was suspected on other occasions
but only close-range birds were conclusively identified because of
possible confusion with Common, Arctic and possibly the larger South
American Tern S. hirundinacea.

[SANDWICH TERN Sterna sandvicensis V
An adult winter-plumage bird at Bertha’s Beach on 28 Nov and again
on 27 Dec 1989 (DO) was probably this species, not previously

P. Gregory 19 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

recorded for the islands; but the possibility of its being a Cayenne Tern
S. (s.) eurygnatha cannot be excluded. |

EARED DOVE Zenaida auriculata V
One at Port Louis 2-12 Apr 1990 (MM). The dates fit nicely with
passage periods.

BARN OWL Tyto alba Rare breeder

2 juv at Moody Brook barracks 3 May and 4 (2 ad, 2 juv) there 14
May 1989. One juv was the normal white-breasted form, the other was
a rich golden-buff beneath, much less conspicuous in the gloom of the
derelict barracks. Shane Wolsey confirmed breeding at a settlement in
East Falkland (pers. comm.), so this was only the second breeding
record. Doubtless the nearby rubbish tip was a good food source. The
barracks was demolished in July 1990. One at Cape Pembroke late May
1989 (D. Munns). One at FIPASS 2 Aug 1990 (AH) may have been a

fugitive from the wrecked barracks site.

FIRE-EYED DIUCON Pyrope pyrope V
One at Hill Cove in Nov 1990 (per T. Blake) was at least the 7th for
the islands.

RUFOUS-BACKED NEGRITO Lessonia rufa Vv

A male came aboard the Falklands Right off West Falkland, c. 30
nautical miles WSW of Cape Meredith, on 11 Oct 1988 (crew, pers.
comm.). One on New Island in late Nov 1990 after prolonged westerly
gales (T. Chater). The 2nd and 3rd records for the islands.

FORK-TAILED FLYCATCHER Tyrannus savana Vv
An adult at Gipsy Cove on 2-3 Apr 1989 (R. Bayliss) is the 4th
record for the islands.

CHILEAN SWALLOW Tachycineta leucopyga Scarce PM

1 juv Stanley House 4-6 Mar 1989; 3 Cape Pembroke 7 Mar 1990
(D. Munns, WRPB); 1 Frying Pan 1 Apr 1990; 2 John St., Stanley, 11
Mar 1990 and 5 there 26 Mar 1990 (AH); 2 at Brookfield farm April 90
(J. McPhee); 1 on Sea Lion Is. 23 Dec 1990. Evidently a regular
passage visitor in small numbers. The juvenile in Stanley was clearly
this species and not the very similar White-rumped Swallow T.
leucorrhoa, which is also a potential vagrant.

BARN SWALLOW Hurundo rustica Scarce PM

A passage visitor in small numbers, more frequent in the austral
spring. Records as follows: 1 in Stanley 13 Oct 1989; 1 juv Cape
Pembroke 14 Oct 1989; 1 Stanley racecourse 31 Mar 1990; 1 in Stanley
5 Aug 1990 during a strong westerly gale (the first August record for
the islands); 1 at Surf Bay 7 Oct 1990.

D. M. Teixeira et al. 20 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

SAND MARTIN Riparia riparia V

Two at Government House in Stanley on 13 Oct 1988 (S. Wolsey
and R. Bayliss pers. comm.) were the first records for the islands. One
over Beaver Pond, Pebble Is., on 18 Dec 1988.

CLIFF SWALLOW Petrochelidon pyrrhonota MW

One along Cape Pembroke on 8 Dec 1989 (M. Whitehouse and G.
Cripps); 2 at Stanley airport on 14-15 Nov 1990 were exhausted and
had clearly only just arrived. The second and third records for the
islands.

RUFOUS-COLLARED SPARROW Zonotrichia capensis WV, probably annual

A small number on Beaver Is. and New Is. in late May/early June
1990 (S. Poncet and 'T. Chater); 1 in tussock near the settlement,
Carcass Is. 4 Sept, and 1 singing by the settlement 7 Sept 1990; 2 at
NW Point, Carcass Is. 8 Sept 1990 and 1 there next day. At least 4
individuals involved in this small spring influx. The species seems to be
turning up more often these days, particularly in the west.

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to Robin Woods and Bill Bourne for encouragement, advice and comment;
Digby Munns for enthusiasm; J. Clark for technical expertise; and G. Bound, A. Henry,
R. McGill, M. Morrison, M. Winter, D. Osborn, S. Poncet, I. Strange and the many
visitors and residents who contributed records.

References:
Strange, I. J. 1992. Wildlife of the Falkland Islands and South Georgia. Harper Collins.
Woods, R. W. 1988. Guide to Birds of the Falkland Islands. Anthony Nelson, Oswestry.

Address: Phil Gregory, P.O. Box 69, Tabubil, Western Province, Papua New Guinea.
© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

Notes on the Black-throated Antwren
Myrmeciza atrothorax and Spot-breasted
Antwren M. stictothorax in Brazil

by Dante Martins Teixeira, forge B. Nacinovic &
Frieda Maria Marti

Received 26 November 1992

The Black-throated Antwren Myrmeciza atrothorax is a common
South American formicariid, widely distributed from the Guianas,
Venezuela and eastern Colombia south to northern Bolivia and
Amazonian Brazil. According to our observations, this species inhabits
the thick lower strata of humid forests, secondary growth scrub, and
also the gallery forests of northern Mato Grosso, central Brazil. As
mentioned by Hilty & Brown (1986), this antwren occasionally joins

D. M. Tetxetra et al. 21 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

army-ants or mixed flocks, composed of such species as Cymbilaimus
lineatus and Thyrothorus coraya, as we recorded in August 1991 at an
advanced base camp of the Brazilian Army (c. 0°28’N, 66°43'W) near
the rio Demiti. In this locality, isolated individuals or pairs were easily
observed hopping on the ground with the tail obliquely pointed up and
sometimes flicked. Like other formicariids, WM. atrothorax may be a
noisy species when it searches within the dry leaves and scans the litter
or the surface of branches and fallen trunks looking for insects
(Diptera, Orthoptera, Coleoptera, Isoptera and Hemiptera, as we found
from stomach contents; see also Schubart et al. 1965). Adult calls
include a sequence of loud whistles, bhee-bhee-bhee..., and a sharp
bheerrk as alarm; young birds may give a long series of pic notes,
apparently as a location call.

The breeding biology of M. atrothorax is almost unknown.
Friedmann (1948) reported one male with enlarged testes obtained in
January at Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira (c. 0°08’S, 67°05'W), Amazonas.
In the series of specimens in the Museu Nacional, birds from the upper
rio Negro collected in August and October have small gonads, which
measured 1—2 mm (males) and 6—7 mm (females). The nest and eggs
seem to be undescribed, but we obtained a young bird on 6 December
1984 from Fazenda Pantanalzinho, c. 13km northwest of Porto
Esperidiao (c. 15°31’S, 58°28’W), northern Mato Grosso. This
specimen (MN 36107; total length 133 mm, weight 17 g) was a young
male, recently feathered, with a non-ossified skull and small gonads
(1 mm), and measured: culmen 11.2 mm, wing 58 mm, tail 40.8 mm,
tarsus 25.5 mm. It was observed following its parents in the thick lower
strata of the humid gallery forest, and was attended by both male (MN
33664; gonads 4 mm, total length 145 mm, weight 16.5 g) and female
(MN 33665; gonads 5 mm, total length 140 mm, weight 18 g).

‘The young male of the Black-throated Antwren has the lores, face
and chin greyish (OOS-10-1° according to the colour catalogue of
Villalobos & Villalobos 1947). The feathers of the pileum are chestnut
(OOS-6-5°) with narrow blackish borders, giving a slightly scaled
appearance; mantle and back also chestnut, slightly more rufescent and
brighter (OOS-7-6°) than the pileum. Upper wing coverts chestnut
(OOS-7-6°), the lesser and median ones with narrow blackish tips,
giving an inconspicuous scaled pattern; alula ash grey (OOS-6-3°), with
a dark chestnut (OOS-8-4°) tinge in the borders; remiges blackish
(OOS-4-2°) with light chestnut (OOS-7-6°) borders. Rump ash black
(OOS-6-10°); tail black. The feathers of throat, breast, belly and flank
are greyish (OOS-10-1°), with broad chestnut tips (OOS-7-6°) which
nearly cover the exposed area of the foreneck, breast and flanks
feathers. Centre of belly, lower abdomen and thighs greyish
(OOS-10-1°); under tail-coverts ash black (OOS-6-10°). Iris chestnut;
bill black with a somewhat lighter gonys and yellowish rictus; tarsus
pale rosy-greyish, with greyish feet.

At the first sight, the plumage of the young male of MW. atrothorax is
similar to that of the adult male, but there is no trace of a black throat,
and the interscapular patch and the white spots of the upper wing
coverts are completely absent. However, two subadult males collected

D.M. Teixeira et al. 22 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

by G. F. Mees in Surinam, and now housed in the Natuurhistorisch
Museum of Leiden (NM 36918, Brokopondo, 30 May 1965, gonads
1.7 mm, weight 15.1 g; NM 72647 Nassau Gebergte, 20 July 1972,
gonads 1.9mm, weight 16.3 g), show an intermediate plumage, which
differs from the adult male pattern mainly by having a few whitish dots
in the upper wing-coverts, the throat greyish or greyish-white marked
with black, and an olivaceous tinge in the blackish breast patch. These
specimens have the same size as adults (culmen 13-14.8 mm, wing
57 mm, tail 58.3 mm, tarsus 23.6-—25.2 mm), and show no significant
differences in the colouration of the bare parts, but the palate is yellow
according the original labels. As the adult females of the species have a
rather different colouration, especially on the underparts, it is
interesting to stress that in some other representatives of the genus,
such as the Sooty Antbird Myrmeciza fortis and the Grey-headed
Antbird M. griseiceps, the plumage of young males has been said to be
similar to that of the adult female (Gyldenstolpe 1945, Hilty & Brown
1986, Fjyeldsa & Krabbe 1990). This discrepancy, however, is perhaps
not remarkable, as Myrmeciza is very heterogeneous and seems not to
be a monophyletic genus (Zimmer 1932, Willis 1985).

Additionally, we would like to comment on the status of the
Spot-breasted Antwren Myrmeciza stictothorax (Todd, 1927), which is
known from a single pair collected at Apacy, west bank of lower
Tapajos (probably 3°15’S, 55°10’W). As has been previously noted
(Todd 1927, Meyer De Schauensee 1970), this species closely
resembles M. atrothorax, except for the more extensively white
underparts of female and the white-spotted breast of male. However, it
is noteworthy that males of M. atrothorax from the northern bank of
the Amazon may also have some white marks on the breast, which
suggests that the male of the Spot-breasted Antwren is a specimen of
the Black-throated Antwren with a well-defined spotted pattern
(Schulenberg & Stotz 1991). In this connection we may mention
that the Museu Nacional houses a second male of M. stictothorax
(MN 31073, gonads 2 mm) collected by Jose Hidasi near Rio Branco
(c. 9°58'S, 67°48’W), Acre, on 29 May 1968. This specimen does not
appreciably differ in size from M. stictothorax (culmen 13.9 mm, tarsus
24.3 mm, tail 54.8mm, wing 60mm), and has the same dark
colouration. Like the holotype of the Spot-breasted Antwren, it has the
upperparts olive-brown (OOY-6-8°), and its breast shows about 30
black feathers shaft-marked with white, in the conspicuous pattern also
described for the holotype of M. stictothorax. The larger of these white
streaks are approximately 10 mm long and 0.7 mm wide, and there is a
single feather with the shaft streak enlarged distally, forming a whitish
apical spot.

Although it might not be unreasonable to treat M. stictothorax
merely as a synonym of M. atrothorax, without even any taxonomic
validity at the subspecies level, any conclusion about the status of this
taxon seems to be premature, as the available information is so scanty.
It should be pointed out that the alleged differences between the
females of the two taxa may not be reliable, bearing in mind the high
degree of intraspecific variation occurring in the plumage of several

D. M. Tetxetra et al. 23 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

formicariids (see also Hellmary 1929). Indeed, the series of M.
atrothorax in the collections of Museu Nacional includes two
noteworthy females (the above-mentioned MN 33665 and MN 38597
from Jacaré, rio Kuluene, c. 12°00'S, 53°24’W) with the centre of
abdomen extensively white, in the pattern attributed to M. stictothorax.
On the other hand, however, both males of M. stictothorax show the
same dark plumage, which resembles the colouration of some
subspecies of M. atrothorax, e.g. the nominate form and M. a.
obscurata. This is a peculiar and significant detail, considering that the
type-material of MW. stictothorax was obtained within the range of W.
atrothorax melanura, a paler-coloured representative which seems to
have a marked chestnut cast on its upperparts. With a wide distribution
on the southern bank of the Amazon, this subspecies occurs at Igarape
Bravo (c. 2°24'S, 54°41’W), about 100 km away from the type-locality
of M. stictothorax (Zimmer 1932, Meyer de Schauensee 1966), and also
at other localities of eastern Amazonian Brazil such as Serra do
Cachimbo (c. 9°00’S, 55°15’W), Conceicao do Araguaia (c. 8°15'S,
49°17'W), and Soure (c. 0°44’S, 48°31'W) on Marajoé Island (Snethlage
1914, Pinto & Camargo 1957, Novaes 1958), contrary to what was
mentioned by Schulenberg & Stotz (1991).

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Conservation International and the Brazilian Conselho Nacional
de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq), which partially supported our
researches on Brazilian birds. We also thank Lieutenant-Colonel Francisco de Assis
Abrao, Commanding Officer of the 5° Batalhado Especial de Fronteiras, and also Major
Aristomedes R. B. Magno, Commanding Officer of the 1°/1° Batalhao de Engenharia de
Construgao of the Brazilian Army, who helped us during the field work carried out in
1991 by the Museu Nacional on the upper rio Negro.

References:

Fjeldsa, J. & Krabbe, N. 1990. Birds of the High Andes. Zoological Museum, University
of Copenhagen.

Friedmann, H. 1948. Birds collected by the National Geographic Society’s expeditions to
northern Brazil and southern Venezuela. Proc. U.S. Natl. Mus. 97: 373-569.

Gyldenstolpe, N. 1945. The bird fauna of rio Jurua in western Brazil. Kungl. Sv. Akad.
Hanadl. 22: 1-338.

Hellmayr, C. E. 1929. On heterogynism in formicarian birds. 7. Orn. 77: 71-70.

Hilty, S. L. & Brown, W. L. 1986. A Guide to the Birds of Colombia. Princeton Univ.
Press.

Meyer de Schauensee, R. 1966. The Birds of South America with their Distribution. Acad.
Nat. Sci., Philadelphia.

Meyer de Schauensee, R. 1970. A Guide to the Birds of South America. Acad. Nat. Sci.,
Philadelphia.

Novaes, F. C. 1958. Sobre uma colecao de aves do sudeste do Estado do Para. Arq. Zool.
S. Paulo 11: 133-146.

Pinto, O. M. O. & Camargo, E. A. 1957. Sobre uma colecao de aves da regiao de
Cachimbo. Pap. Avuls. Dept. Zool. S. Paulo 13: 51-69.

Schubart, O., Aguirre, A. C. & Sick, H. 1965. Contribui¢ao para o conhecimento da
alimentag¢ao das aves brasileiras. Arg. Zool. S. Paulo 12: 95-249.

Schulenberg, T. S. & Stotz, D. F. 1991. The taxonomic status of Myrmeciza stictothorax.
Auk 108: 731-733.

Snethlage, E. 1914. Catalogo das aves amazénicas. Bol. Mus. Par. Emilio Goeldi 8: 1-533.

Todd, W. E. C. 1927. New gnateaters and antbirds from tropical America, with a

revision of the genus Myrmeciza and its allies. Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 40:
149-178.

M. Herremans 24 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

Villalobos, C. & Villalobos, J. 1947. Atlas de los Colores. El Ateneo, Buenos Aires.

Willis, E. O. 1985. Myrmeciza and related antbirds as army ant followers. Rev. bras. Zool.
2: 433-442.

Zimmer, J. T. 1932. Studies of Peruvian birds VI. The formicarian genera Myrmoborus
and Myrmeciza in Peru. Am. Mus. Novit. 545.

Address: Dante Martins Teixeira et al., Secao de Ornitologia, Museu Nacional, Quinta da
Boa Vista, Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Brazil CEP 20940-040.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

Major concentration of River Warblers
Locustella fluviatilis wintering in northern
Botswana

by M. Herremans
Received 9 December 1992

The River Warbler Locustella fluviatilis is an unobtrusive Palaearctic
migrant, which enters northeastern Africa in September/October, but
only continues to move through eastern Africa into southern Africa in
late November and December (Dowsett 1972). Birds from late
December to late January in southern Zambia were still on the move
southwards (Dowsett 1972). ‘The wintering* grounds of the species are
still unknown: Zimbabwe and northern South Africa are suggested as
the main wintering area (Dowsett 1972, Curry-Lindahl 1981), but
there are very few records from these countries. Irwin (1981) mentions
7 scattered records from Zimbabwe and 5 have been accepted more
recently (Hustler 1989, Hustler et al. 1990, 1991, Hustler pers. comm.).
From the Transvaal there is one old specimen and a single accepted
record (T'arboton et al. 1987), and more recently there are records from
two localities, one involving several birds (T'arboton pers. comm.,
Hockey pers. comm.). There are two records from Botswana: one bird
was seen during the 6th Pan-African Ornithological Congress in
Francistown in March/April 1985 and a second one was at the same
locality on 16 March 1989 (Botswana Bird Club Records Subcommit-
tee pers. comm.). At the time of Dowsett’s review there were no records
available from February or early March, when River Warblers
supposedly undergo a rapid moult at the final non-breeding destination
(Dowsett 1972). D. J. Pearson more recently has provided evidence of
wintering of River Warblers as far north as Kenya, where four were
caught between 6 January and 25 March, three of which were moulting
(Turner 1992).

Between 4 and 6 March 1992 River Warblers were found rather
plentiful in the understory of the more open parts of the Rhodesian
Teak Baikiaea plurijuga woodlands in the Kasane Forest Reserve, just

*The northern hemisphere biased term ‘‘wintering’’ is used in this paper for
convenience, but the birds actually spend the local summer in the southern hemisphere.

M. Herremans 25 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

south of Kasane, northern Botswana (30 minute-square 1725C). The
birds were extremely skulking except for a few minutes at sunrise and
sunset, when they all suddenly emerged into the top of the Baphia and
Bauhinia scrub, apparently establishing territories by repeating the
typical explosive phit call. River Warblers were present at a density of 7
birds per hectare near the camp, and twice 3 and once 4 per hectare
were found at three other random places in the forest (up to 6 km away
from the camp) where I happened to be at dawn or dusk, apparently the
only right moment for a representative inventory. It also happened
twice at two more sites during the day that two River Warblers started
calling in response to a mobbing bird-party (possibly for a snake).
Three birds near the camp were located repeatedly and each stayed
within the same patch of scrub and long grasses, not moving more than
5m during three days. When disturbed, the birds dropped to the
ground and they were impossible to flush into mistnets. When
confronted with a tape of the call, some birds eventually responded
with a short burst of the ‘squizzling’ song. Two birds seen at very close
range were in heavy moult, including remiges and rectrices.

‘Two of the sites in the Kasane Forest Reserve were revisited early in
1993. In the evening of 14 January, 4 River Warblers were located at
dusk at the most remote count-point, the same number as in March
1992. The territorial response was poor and only one bird was seen at
close range: there was no obvious sign of moult yet. Next evening, no
River Warblers could be located near the previous year’s camp site, but
at this site the understory vegetation had not fully recovered from a fire
in the dry season. It is likely that River Warblers were only just
arriving in northern Botswana in mid-January 1993.

Although only 25 birds were actually located in the Kasane Forest
Reserve, this is more than the total of all records known hitherto
from the presumed final wintering grounds. Furthermore, the average
density of River Warblers at the 4 random points with a representative
count (4 per hectare) indicates that considerable numbers of this species
must have wintered in the more open parts of the Teak woodlands,
where there is a dense scrub cover interspersed with long grasses
(Hyperthelia dissoluta, Triraphis spp., Aristida spp., Eragrostris spp.).
At this density, River Warblers outnumbered all other species of
Palaearctic warblers found in the area during a transect of 20
point-counts covering 35ha (in 200 minutes): Willow Warbler
Phylloscopus trochilus, 29 in 17 points=8/10 ha; Whitethroat Sylvia
communis, 28 in 17 points=8/10 ha; Icterine Warbler Hippolais icterina,
19 in 12 points=5/10 ha; European Marsh Warbler Acrocephalus
palustris, 11 in 7 points=3/10 ha; Garden Warbler Sylvia borin, 9 in 6
points=3/10 ha. However, when we consider that the woodlands are
probably not ecologically uniform for the different species and that only
the points where a species was recorded constitute habitat that warrants
to be taken into account for a density calculation, the densities of all five
warblers become remarkably similar (9-10 per 10 ha), though still
clearly below the density of River Warblers. The only information on
densities of River Warblers in southern Africa seems to be Kelsey
(1992) who reported 2 birds resident in 8.5 ha in southern Zambia in

M. Herremans 26 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

January/February, apparently also birds at the final non-breeding
destination.

River Warblers were present in the Teak woodlands at a density
higher than found for any Palaearctic warbler in any habitat in
Botswana (Herremans 1993), but the species was not found during
similar bird inventories in several other typical habitats of northern
Botswana during February/March 1992: they were absent from the tall
and moist grasslands of the Northern Plains (a seasonally inundated
basin), from the thickets along the Chobe or Linyanti River-fronts, and
from Mopane scrub and woodland in the Chobe district. The species
therefore seems to have a clear preference for the understory of the
‘Teak woodlands. However, a major part of these woodlands is burned
yearly in the dry season and the habitat becomes only restored at the
earliest one month after the first abundant rains, thus generally from
late December onwards. The ‘Teak woodlands grow on deep Kalahari
sand and the soil conditions are always dry. The flush of new vegetation
and foliage after heavy rains is so abundant that the woodlands in the
wet season could be classified as ‘moist bush and moist woodland’, the
habitat preferred by River Warblers as indicated by Pearson & Lack
(1992). The habitat in the Teak woodlands also conforms to the
predictions of what the wintering habitat should be by Dowsett (1972).

Acknowledgements

This is communication No. 10 of the ornithology research unit of the Department of
Wildlife and National Parks, Botswana. The studies were also supported by VVOB
(Vlaamse Vereniging voor Ontwikkelingssamenwerking en technische Bijstand). J.
Barnes kindly assisted with identification of grasses. D. R. Aspinwall and R. J. Dowsett
provided some of the literature.

References:

Curry-Lindahl, K. 1981. Bird Migration in Africa. Vol 1. Academic Press.

Dowsett, R. J. 1972. The River Warbler Locustella fluviatilis in Africa. Zambia Mus. F. 3:
69-80.

Herremans M. 1993. Seasonal dynamics in subKalahari bird communities with emphasis
on migrants. Proc. VIII Pan-African Orn. Congr.: 555-564.

Hustler, K. 1989. First report of the OAZ Rarities Committee. Honeyguide 35: 63-68.

Hustler, K., Tree, A. J. & Irwin, M. P. S. 1990. Second report of the OAZ rarities
committee. Honeyguide 36: 113-117.

Hustler, K., Irwin, M. P. S. & Tree, A. J. 1991. Third report of the OAZ rarities
committee. Honeyguide 37: 165-170.

Irwin, M. P. S. 1981. The Birds of Zimbabwe. Quest, Salisbury.

Kelsey, M. G. 1992. Conservation of migrants on their wintering grounds: an overview.
Ibis 134, Supplement 1: 109-112.

Pearson, D. J. & Lack, P. C. 1992. Migration patterns and habitat use by passerine and
near-passerine migrants in eastern Africa. [bis 134, Supplement 1: 89-98.

Tarboton, W. R., Kemp, M. I. & Kemp, A. C. 1987. Birds of the Transvaal. Transvaal
Museum, Pretoria.

Turner, D. A. 1992. East African Bird Report 1990. Scopus 14: 129-176.

Address: Dr. Marc Herremans, Department of Wildlife and National Parks, P.O. Box
131 (room 102), Gaborone, Botswana.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994

M. Herremans et al. 27 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

The display of the Short-clawed Lark
Certhilauda chuana and comments on the
genus Certhilauda

by M. Herremans, N. D. Hunter & D. Allan

Received 31 December 1992

The Short-clawed Lark is a resident endemic of southern Africa,
restricted to c. 25,000 square kilometres subdivided between two
geographical areas, one in southeastern Botswana and adjacent South
Africa (south to the border region between the Transvaal, Orange Free
State and northern Cape) and a second area on the Pietersburg plateau
(Dean & Keith 1992). The species is one of the least known birds of
southern Africa (Maclean 1985a) and most of its plumage characters
have been appreciated correctly only recently (Newman 1983, 1989,
Sinclair 1984, Clancey 1985, Hustler 1985, Hunter 1990, Robertson
1991, Dean & Keith 1992). The spectacular aerial display of the
Short-clawed Lark has been described several times (Newman 1983,
1989, Sinclair 1984, Hunter 1990, Robertson 1991) and it is therefore
very unfortunate that Dean & Keith (1992) ignored this knowledge.
The Short-clawed and Long-billed C. curvirostris Larks are considered
a superspecies currently placed in Certhilaudis (Hall & Moreau 1970,
Clancey 1985, Dean & Keith 1992), in which the Karoo C. albescens,
Dune C. erythrochlamys and Red C. burra Larks are also included
(Dean & Keith 1992). Maclean (1969, 1985b), however, included all of
these species in the genus Mirafra.

Observations of Short-clawed Larks were made for more than ten
years in southeastern Botswana (NDH), where the species has been
studied in detail since 1991 (MH). DA has observed Short-clawed and
Long-billed Larks throughout South Africa for many years.

Display of the Short-clawed Lark

Male Short-clawed Larks frequently perform a spectacular aerial
display flight during the breeding season to enhance territorial
advertisement. The male flies off from a low bush or another slightly
elevated perch and, after a rapid, low horizontal flight, suddenly
ascends vertically. At 5 to 20m high the bird stalls, nose-dives and
descends vertically, with wings closed and tail slightly fanned. The
wings are only opened again close to the ground, just before the bird
alights. Occasionally, the bird does not land again and immediately
repeats the display flight: up to four displays in a row have been
observed. The descent is usually accompanied by a very high-pitched
whistling call, ooeeeeeee. The height of the ascent seems to be related to
the type of habitat: in very open vegetation 6-10 m is the norm, but in
more dense Acacia bushveld males ascend above tree height, sometimes
to over 20 m. The display flight of the Short-clawed Lark therefore is
virtually identical to that of the Long-billed Lark (Macdonald 1952,

M. Herremans et al. 28 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)
Newman 1983, Sinclair 1984, Maclean 1985b, Hunter 1990). The

Long-billed and Short-clawed Larks also give similar clear whistling
vocalizations. :

Sometimes the Shortclawed Lark makes a fluttering low flight (not
accompanied by audible wing-claps) as an introduction to a terrestrial
courtship of the female. The male then walks in deliberate small circles
close to her with the chest thrown out, the wings drooped, the tail
cocked up vertically, and the rufous rump-feathers raised. This display
always preceded the copulations observed, though it was not always
followed by copulation.

Discussion

Dean & Keith (1992) state that the male Short-clawed Lark “displays
in fluttering flight with wings clapping; straight and on same plane, low
down over dense 1 m tall grass’’. We cannot but assume that this is a
mistake for another (probably Muirafra) lark, as there is very little in
this description that can possibly fit the Short-clawed Lark. The typical
nose-dive display has been described above and the species never makes
any audible wing claps, nor does it occur in dense tall grass.

With the highly typical display flight of the Short-clawed Lark being
re-appreciated, is there any further argument for close affinities in the
genus Certhilauda (sensu Dean & Keith 1992)? No other southern
African lark species make a display flight that resembles the distinct
nose-dive of Short-clawed and Long-billed Larks. The long, pointed
wings and long tail of these species possibly constitute essential
morphological characters to enable the performance of this demanding
acrobatic flight. The ‘slimness index’ of curvirostris and chuana is much
higher than in the more bulky Mirafra larks (Table 1) and approaches
the slimness of the larger Anthus pipits (vaalensis=2760, leuc-
ophris=2290 and similis=2482). Other slim-built African larks, e.g.
Red-capped Calandrella cinerea, Dusky Pynarocorys nigricans and
Rufous-rumped P. erythropygia Larks, have similar high indices, 1.e.
1908, 2651 and 2396 respectively. Although we do not give any
taxonomic weight per se to this index, we use it to quantify and stress an
aspect of jizz and agility in these birds. Nevertheless, there is an urgent
need for a detailed multivariate assessment of allometry in African
larks, which is highly likely to reveal new, and strengthen current,
insights into both eco-morphological and phylogenetic assemblages.

Measured on the scale of divergence in larks, the other species
currently placed in Certhilauda have little in common with the
curvirostris/chuana superspecies (Table 1). They all have the conical,
mostly horn-coloured bills (typical of Mirafra sensu largo), build domed
nests, perform cruising, fluttering and hovering display flights, and
have a song structurally similar to the Fawn-coloured Lark Muirafra
africanoides, a closely related slimly-built sandveld specialist (slimness
index=1896). If albescens, erythrochlamys and burra represent anything
other than well differentiated sand specialist Mirafra larks (the detailed
evaluation of which is beyond the scope of this paper), then the generic
name Calendulauda (Roberts 1936) is available for this assemblage. The

Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

29

M. Herremans et al.

‘(€66] SUBWOAIIOFT

2g IAs0uU0 | -suBUTAIIaF{) padtasqo AjJUa0e1 Av[dstp [ela Inq ‘([66] Ussuel “696, URep>eIA[) 1YSIY Suos 1ado1d ou savy 0} pres Aj[erouay),
‘(soTeur 9) HIN Bp Pley+,

(766[) SUBW9IIOF]T 2 SUBUEIIOFY ‘(S96 1) JopIsN].

(1661) JoqUNFY Ul uoUIaA “_ 2 UOIOGIeT, “AA ‘URTTY ‘q Aq pepraoid aouaptaad

24} MOT[OF AMA “ALeT pal[iq-Suo7T] oy} wos umouy aie sjsou pawop iy} (7661) YOM ®W uvaq Aq Juawiajejs ayy 10J aouaptad ou aaey aM,
‘DIOgVS puR sapiouvsiAfv ‘vividv ‘vamowuvuuis0{nA ‘sisuajosuv “1ysv ‘DUuBIIA{oD ‘vpnoIIqQ]D ‘DUIAasso ‘suDB]]IZUvI :saID9ds UIT.

‘(Z661) WOM 2 URI Pur (6861) APYDOP] 2 URAq] WOT BJep {(sayeur ATUO) ‘o/(sseu Apog)/(yysuay [re] x p1oyo Bul) = ,xepul SSOUUUITS, ~
“B19UIT YL] Soy} a1eIJUSIAYIp 0} Sainjevay OIWOUOXe} 100d JaIp puk soNstiajoVIeY MEID pUTY ‘aFe19A0O [IIsOU ‘sSuLyIeUI-In3U0} Japrsuod 2M,

Or

+8] yor[q Apsour ‘suo, aptys/aatp + quarjo Ay[euorses90 AJOTUNTUL OU pewopun pyw1sv{oqg]v
gL FET yorlq Ajsour ‘suo] AXOTUITU OU <pewopun puonys
OL+Z (paaimnoep) yortq Ajsou ‘suo] doojs 29 9Sl1 [BOTVIOA ‘SOPISITYM IBIS ,Pewopun STA JSOALZANI
+I1+Z ULI yiep YIM UTOY ‘[TBoTUOS Agorutu ou ‘surqqnq DAANQ
S16l wt yrep YUM UrOY ‘TeoTUOS UTYA sulIaAoy “Sulia}jnyY ‘sutstnto Azznq Aq paMoy[o} saqyou pawop SAUDIYIOAYINAD
L+91 WII yep YIM UlOY “[eoruos UTYR ALOJONPOAUT 07BI9"IS suaosaq]v

satoads oulos Ul

Zurddejo-3urm 4 Sutraaoy Axorutud SuUTpnyoutr
eILI F E8tl UWI yep YM urOY ‘Teoru0D ‘SuLIayjny ‘surstn.419 Aqyensn ‘apqeriea powop DA{DALTAT
7 SSeuul|s, Ita iysIy duos/Avjdsiq suo0g ISON sotoads/snuery

—_—_—————————————————————————————————————— —
pexed YAR] UBOTIPY UlIYINOS IUIOS JO SOTJSTIOJOBIBY LO)

1 W1TaVviL

M. Herremans et al. 30 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

superspecies curvirostris/chuana can be considered at least as distinct
from all other southern African larks as is the Spike-heeled Lark
(albofasciata), generally placed now in its own monotypic genus
Chersomanes. We recommend restricting the use of Certhilauda to the
curvirostris/chuana superspecies.

‘The three morphologically distinct assemblages into which the wide
radiation of subspecies currently allocated to the Long-billed Lark can
be classified (Dean & Keith 1992) also need more careful study. The
very long-billed and heavily-marked birds, with long, straight
hindclaws, may well constitute the species Long-billed Lark sensu
stricto, while other races might constitute a third or even fourth
Certhilauda species. Alternatively, some of the less marked, more
rufous taxa, with shorter, straighter bills, might prove to be subspecies
of chuana. The range of vocal dialects in chuana at least suggests this
possibility (Herremans in prep.). ‘The poorly-known eastern African
Somali Lark (somalica), currently placed in Mirafra but originally
described by Witherby (1903) as a Certhilauda, is morphologically
indeed close to Certhilauda (sensu stricto) and may represent a
cross-equatorial link to this genus. It also makes a short courtship
flight, has long clear whistling vocalizations and builds an undomed

nest (Archer & Godman 1961).

Acknowledgements

This is communication No. 16 of the ornithology research unit of the Department of
Wildlife and National Parks, Botswana. MH was also supported by VVOB (Vlaamse
Vereniging voor Ontwikkelingssamenwerking en technische Biystand).

References:

Archer, G. & Godman, E. M. 1961. The Birds of British Somaliland and the Gulf of Aden.
Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh.

Clancey, P. A. 1980. Checklist of Southern African birds. Southern African Ornithological
Society, Pretoria.

Clancey, P. A. 1985. The Rare Birds of Southern Africa. Winchester Press, Johannesburg.

Dean, W. R. J. & Keith, S. 1992. In S. Keith, E. K. Urban & C. H. Fry (eds), The Birds
of Africa. Vol. IV. Academic Press.

Dean, W. R. J. & Hockey, P. A. R. 1989. An ecological perspective of lark (Alaudidae)
distribution and diversity in the southwest-arid zone of Africa. Ostrich 60: 27-34.

Hall, B. P. & Moreau, R. E. 1970. An Atlas of Speciation in African Passerine Birds.
British Museum (Natural History), London.

Herremans, M. & Herremans, D. 1992. Breeding of the Short-clawed Lark Muirafra
chuana in Botswana. Babbler 23: 6-17.

Herremans-Tonnoeyr, D. & Herremans, M. 1993. Aerial display of the Spikeheeled Lark
Chersomanes albofasciata. Babbler 25: 35.

Hunter, N. D. 1990. An overview of the larks of Botswana. Part 1. Babbler 20: 12-21.

Hunter, N. D. 1991. An overview of the larks of Botswana. Part 2. Babbler 21 & 22:
62-73.

Hustler, K. 1985. First breeding record of the Shortclawed Lark. Honeyguide 31:
109-110.

Jensen, R. A. C. 1991. Spikeheeled Lark. Pp. 424 in P. J. Ginn, W. G. Mcllleron &
P. le S. Milstein (eds), The Complete Book of Southern African Birds. 3rd impression.
Struik, Cape Town.

Macdonald, J. D. 1952. Notes on the Long-billed Lark Certhilauda curvirostra. Ibis 94:
122-127.

Maclean, G. L. 1969. South African lark genera. Cumbebasia A1: 79-94.

G. Gargallo 31 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

Maclean, G. L. 1985a. Identifying the larks of southern Africa. Bokmakierie 37: 108-111.

Maclean, G. L. 1985b. Roberts’ Birds of Southern Africa. John Voelcker Bird Book Fund,
Cape Town.

Newman, K. 1983. Birds of Southern Africa. MacMillan South Africa, Johannesburg.

Newman, K. 1989. Birds of Botswana. Southern Book Publishers, Cape Town.

Roberts, A. 1936. Nomenclature of South African larks and other birds. Ann. Transvaal
Mus. 18: 257-269.

Robertson, P. 1991. Some observations on the Shortclawed Lark. Witwatersrand Birdclub
News 152: 10-11.

Sinclair, I. 1984. Field Guide to the Birds of Southern Africa. Struik, Cape Town.

Witherby, H. F. 1903. ‘‘Certhilauda somalica’”’. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 14: 29.

Addresses: Dr M. Herremans & N. D. Hunter, Department of Wildlife and National
Parks, P.O. Box 131, Gaborone, Botswana. D. Allan, Southern African Bird Atlas
Project (SABAP), Avian Demography Unit, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch
7700, South Africa.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

On the taxonomy of the western
Mediterranean islands populations of
Subalpine Warbler Sylvia cantillans

by Gabriel Gargallo

Received 19 Fanuary 1993

The Subalpine Warbler Sylvia cantillans is a common breeding species
in the Mediterranean Basin. Its European range extends from the
Iberian Peninsula through southern France, most of Italy (including
Sicily), coastal former Jugoslavia, Albania, southern Bulgaria and
Greece to western Turkey; and from Morocco to Tunisia in North
Africa (Peters 1986, Cramp 1992). The breeding range also includes the
islands of Corsica, Sardinia, and Majorca and Cabrera in the Balearic
Islands (Thibault 1983, Cramp 1992, Gargallo 1993). Three subspecies
have been recognized: nominate cantillans in southwestern Europe
from Italy westwards, including the western Mediterranean islands;
albistriata from the former Jugoslavia eastwards; and inornata in North
Africa (Vaurie 1959, Williamson 1976, Peters 1986).

There are no or only very slight subspecific differences in female
plumage (Williamson 1976). Males, however, in spring plumage show
distinctive features (Williamson 1976, Cramp 1992, Svensson 1992):
the race albistriata difters from nominate cantillans and inornata by
having a broader white moustachial streak, slightly darker upperparts,
and a more chestnut-brown, less orange, throat and breast clearly
demarcated from the more pure white belly and less coloured sides
of belly and flanks; nominate cantillans has a reddish-orange (or
pinkish-chestnut) colouration on the underparts extending farther
down and to the sides, unlike albistriata; inornata differs from cantillans
by having purer orange-coloured underparts.

G. Gargallo 32 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

We studied Subalpine Warblers during the spring and summer of
1992 on Illa de l’aire (Minorca), Cabrera and Majorca. We made field
observations both on migrating birds and on several pairs breeding on
Cabrera and at Cuber, Majorca; 49 birds were examined in the hand. In
addition the plumage characters of different populations of Subalpine
Warbler were examined at the British Museum (Natural History),
Tring, and at the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid.
Direct observations on the nominate race, cantillans, have been made
routinely during the last few years in the Iberian Peninsula, and
albistriata was studied in April 1992 at several localities in Greece.

While studying Subalpine Warblers in the Balearics, we found that
all the males that we mist-netted or observed had clear light
brownish-pink underparts without any or with very little orange or
chestnut tinge, being thus very distinct from any other known race.
Moreover, the call notes of these birds also differed strikingly from
typical Subalpine Warblers, closely resembling the common call of the
Wren Troglodytes Troglodytes and more slightly that of the Long-tailed
Tit Aegithalos caudatus. 'This call was also uttered by females and
juveniles, and was apparently a distinctive vocal feature of these
populations.

This characteristic call has been also described for Corsican and
Sardinian populations (Lemaire 1973, Bergmann 1976, Cody & Walter
1976, Thibault 1983). Moreover, Orlando (1937) described a new race
of Subalpine Warbler from Sardinia, not accepted as such and included
in nominate cantillans by subsequent authors (Vaurie 1959, Peters
1986, Williamson 1976), as having a dull rusty brown (ruggine-sudicio)
instead of the typical reddish-chestnut or chestnut (rosso-canella,
rosso-castagno or castagno) underparts. The type has not been located
and so comparison is not possible; but although the meaning of any
particular colour is very subjective and varies greatly from one observer
to another, we think that the description of “dull rusty brown”
underparts of Orlando’s race refers to the same colour that we found in
the Balearic Islands; moreover it is supported by the fact that the single
adult male collected in the breeding season from Sardinia (there are no
Corsican birds) in the skin collection of the BMNH has the same
distinctive plumage features of Balearic populations.

In view of these resemblances in plumage colouration and vocal
characteristics among the western Mediterranean island populations,
and their distinctiveness from all other races, we propose that Sylvia
cantillans moltonit Orlando, 1937, should be recognized as a valid
subspecies.

Comparison of S. c. moltonii with other races

Biometry

Table 1 summarizes some biometrical characters measured on live
birds of the different races of Subalpine Warbler. There is no
information on the race inornata.

Subspecies moltonii, like cantillans, is clearly smaller than albistriata.
Wing, tarsus and bill (from skull) measurements are significantly

G. Gargallo 33 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)
TABLE 1

Mean values, standard deviations and range for four biometrical traits measured in three
races of Subalpine Warbler (sexes combined, in mm)

n mean s.d. range n mean s.d. range
wing tail
moltonit 29 60.1 1.09 57-63 26 53.4 1.54 49.5-57

cantillans 94 58.7 1.20 55.5763.5 100 5522 1.80 52-60
albistriata 11 62.5 1.24 60—64.5 11 55.1 1.45 52-57

bill tarsus
moltonit 27 12.9 0.38 12.3-13.6 27 18.4 0.54 16.8-19.4
cantillans 92 12.9 0.43 11.6-14.0 93 18.6 0.49 17-20.9
albistriata 11 14.2 0.44 13.3-14.9 11 19.2 0.47 18.2—20.0

greater in albistriata (T-test: t=4.97, t=7.23 and t=22.37 respectively;
P<0.01); there are no significant differences in tail length (T-test:
t=1.94; P>0.05). Nominate cantillans has a shorter wing and longer tail
than moltoni (both differences significant, T-test, t=4.66, t=2.69;
P<0.01), but bill and tarsus lengths are similar (Table 1).

Published measurements of cantillans and albistriata (Williamson
1976, Cramp 1992) also support the size differences between these
races. The differences in wing length that we have found between
cantillans and moltonii may be the result of comparing birds of the race
cantillans from a quite restricted area (mainly northeastern Iberian
Peninsula); the wing length measurements given by Cramp (1992) for
cantillans are very close to moltoni. The measurements of inornata
given in Cramp (1992) are close to both moltoni and cantillans.

Plumage

In spring plumage, adult males of moltoni differ clearly from the
other subspecies by having light brownish pink underparts instead of
reddish-orange as in cantillans, more pure orange as in inornata, or
chestnut as in albistriata. This colour extends, as in cantillans and
inornata, to the sides of the belly and flanks, differing from the more
restricted chestnut tinge of typical albistriata. Upperparts are paler
grey than in albistriata, and slightly paler than in cantillans and
inornata. ‘The moustachial streak is rather thin, white in colour,
sometimes with a slight pinkish tinge, not so conspicuous as in
cantillans and much less than in albistriata. Females and juveniles seem
inseparable from the other races.

After the postnuptial moult, the colouration of the underparts of
males is greatly modified; the feathers of throat and breast have broad
whitish tips and the pinkish colouration is very restricted, so that the

subspecific features are less apparent in the field, though not in the
hand.

Vocalizations
There are clear and distinctive differences in the usual contact-alarm
calls of the races moltonii, cantillans and albistriata (Lemaire 1973,

G. Gargallo 34 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

Figure 1. Sonagrams illustrating the differences in vocalizations between moltoniz,
cantillans and albistriata. Horizontal scale gives time in seconds; vertical scale 0-8 kHz.
(a) moltonit. Recording by Gabriel Gargallo, Cabrera, Balearics, Spain, May 1992. (b)
albistriata. Recording by Gabriel Gargallo, Brallos, Fokis, Greece, April 1992. (c)
cantillans. Recording by José Luis Romero, La Roca, Barcelona, Spain, June 1991.

Bergmann 1976, Cramp 1992, pers. obs.; Fig. 1). Available recordings
from northwestern Africa in the British Library of Wildlife Sounds
(London) and those published in Cramp (1992) indicate that the call of
inornata is similar to that of cantillans.

The call of moltonii (Fig. 1a) is a rather hard rattling ¢trrrrt
reminiscent of the typical call of the Wren Troglodytes troglodytes; it is
a short strophe, 0.2—-0.5 sec long, usually composed of 8-9 elements.

The call of cantillans/inornata (Fig. 1c) consists of a single short
element, tek, usually continuously repeated at variable intervals
according to the behavioural context.

G. Gargallo 35 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

The call of albistriata (Fig. 1b) consists of two elements trek, usually
uttered in pairs or continuously when the bird is excited.

Calls that sound similar to moltonii have been found in Portugal and
South Greece (H. Shirihai in litt.); however we, as Bergmann (1976),
have never heard this call outside the range of moltoni. Rarely a
cantillans-like tek may be uttered by albistriata, but always as part of
the song or in a series of trek-trek notes.

Concluding remarks

In the present state of knowledge the breeding distribution of moltonii
includes some of the Balearic Islands (Majorca and Cabrera), Sardinia
and Corsica. Corsican populations are included since they have the
same distinctive call, but we have not examined birds from this island
for plumage features. Hence, the distribution of this subspecies seems
to be restricted to some western Mediterranean islands. However, after
checking the skin collection at the BMNH (Tring) we found two males
of the race moltoni that had been collected from Tunisia and three from
northwestern Italy. These birds, all collected in spring, might have
been migrants passing through Tunisia or birds which had,
accidentally, flown over Corsica. But we cannot completely reject the
possibility that moltonii may breed in Tunisia and northwestern Italy.
In fact we have not found any male of the race inornata among the
specimens collected in Tunisia, neither at the BMNH (Tring), where
there are only the two males above-mentioned, nor at the MNCN
(Madrid) where the single specimen is a male of the race moltonii
collected in May. Clearly we need more information to delineate a more
precise distribution. Nevertheless, an island origin for this race seems
probable, where isolation and insular ecological conditions could have
allowed such a clear differentiation from the closely adjacent
continental populations, both European and African. Some spread to
limited parts of the mainland might have taken place subsequently.

Acknowledgements

I am most grateful to Philias Akriotis, Santi Cachot, Ratil Escandell, Pere Garcies, Jaume
Jaume, Pere Tomas and members of the GOB for their hospitality and help during my
work in Greece and the Balearics. I am very indebted to Jon King who kindly arranged
my visit to England and to Peter R. Colston at the British Museum (Natural History),
Tring, and Josefina Barreiros at the Museo de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid, for allowing
me to check the skins in their respective institutions. My thanks to Richard Ranft at the
British Library of Wildlife Sounds and José Luis Romero for supplying recordings, to H.
Shirihai, and D. W. Snow who made helpful suggestions for improvements. The
Department of Catalan Phylology at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona kindly
provided computer facilities for sonagraphic analysis.

References:

Bergmann, H-H. 1976. Inseldialekte in den Alarmrufen von Weissbart- und
Samtkopf-grasmiicke (Sylvia cantillans und Sylvia melanocephala). Vogelwarte 28:
245-257.

Cody, M. L. & Walter, H. 1976. Habitat selection and interspecific interactions among
Mediterranean Sylviid warblers. Ozkos 27: 210-238.

Cramp, S. 1992. The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Vol. 6. Oxford Univ. Press.

F.C. Barajas L. & A. R. Phillips 36 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

Gargallo, G. 1993. Noticiario ornitologico. Ardeola 40: 102.

Lemaire, F. 1973. Notes sur quelques espéces de l’avifaune corse. Alauda 41: 267-272.

Orlando, C. 1937. Nuove forme della Regione Italica. Riv. Ital. Orn. 7: 213.

Peters, J. L. 1986. Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 11. Museum of Comparative
Zoology, Harvard.

Svensson, L. 1992. Identification Guide to European Passerines. Stockholm.

Thibault, J-C. 1983. Les oiseaux de la Corse. Parc Naturel Régional de la Corse, Ajaccio.

Vaurie, C. 1959. The Birds of the Palearctic Fauna: Passeriformes. H. F. & G. Witherby,
London.

Williamson, K. 1976. Identification for ringers 3. The genus Sylvia. BTO Field Guide
no. 9 (revised edition).

Address: Gabriel Gargallo, GCA, Museu de Zoologia, Apt. 593, 08080 Barcelona, Spain.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

A Haplospiza finch in western México; the
lessons of an enigma

by Flor C. Barajas L. & Allan R. Phillips
Received 20 January 1993

Haplospiza is a small, mainly South American genus generally assigned
to Emberizinae (if that subfamily is really distinct from Fringilla). One
of these obscurely coloured, rather small finches, H. wunicolor
(supposedly monotypic), ranges from eastern Brazil south to
northeasternmost Argentina, etc. The other, H. (Spodiornis) rustica, is
the more northern (and western) species. It inhabits the Andes, east to
Venezuela, reappearing (disjunctly and very locally) from western
Panama north and west to southernmost México near the Guatemalan
border, with one old report farther north. Here it is notoriously difficult
to find; the 3 El Salvador specimens “‘suggest that the species is at best
a rare resident of the northern cordillera, and possibly no more than a
vagrant” (Thurber et al. 1987). But no known population could yield
such vagrants: in Honduras it is known from 2 specimens, from one
locality (Monroe 1968); in Nicaragua from 1 (Martinez-Sanchez 1989);
while it remains unreported from Guatemala (Land 1970). The
“irregular, perhaps nomadic, seasonal movements’? in Costa Rica
(Stiles & Skutch 1989) surely do not reach or cross the Nicaraguan
lowlands. Even in Costa Rica it is ‘‘Rare or very local’’, and it was never
found there in the explorations of Carriker or of Slud (1964). There are
hardly any accounts of its being seen in any numbers (Stiles &
Hespenheide 1972). Wetmore et al. (1984: 582) aptly conclude:
‘‘Almost nothing is known of this species.”’

Well north of the Guatemalan border, there has long been an
enigmatic record: the type of H. r. uniformis Sclater & Salvin, taken by
R. Montes de Oca, supposedly at Xalapa, Veracruz. But Chapman
(1898: 17) found that Montes de Oca’s “‘Jalapa”’ meant little more than
the state of Veracruz. Even this seemed rather dubious; no one else ever

F.C. Barajas L. & A. R. Phillips 37 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

saw a Haplospiza in Veracruz, while Montes de Oca was once naturalist
on the Mexican-Guatemalan border commission (Ferrari-Pérez 1886).
But even if this was before he sent the type to Britain, we know of no
other Chiapas birds labelled by him “‘Jalapa’; and it seems most
unlikely that the only bird he took there would be such an extreme
rarity. (See also section on the races of H. rustica, below.)

Western México, including Michoacan, is of course still farther from
Central America, and more distinct faunally. Here, in recent years, F.
Méndez G. and his students at the Universidad Michoacana de San
Nicolas de Hidalgo have been conducting ecological studies and
explorations. For her thesis, Barajas surveyed a slope that included a
ranch at El Temazcal, 27 km east-southeast of Morelia at 2190m
altitude. The original pine-oak woods is now very perturbed; few trees
remain, and the present vegetation is not unusual. Here, in the lower
edge of a net set near ground-level by an unused, dry irrigation ditch on
the hillside, 19 August 1982, she caught an obscure, streaked female
finch. To our amazement, it proved to be a Haplospiza!

Continued efforts by F.C.B.L., and others at times, have failed to
find any more Haplospiza anywhere in the vicinity. It remains the only
record west of the far distant, biologically different, Isthmus of
‘Tehuantepec.

Ecology

Wetmore et al.'s conclusion that “Almost nothing is known’’
summarizes H. rustica’s ecology well. Indeed, the extremely limited
number of observations suggests that its preferred habitat (if uniform)
may still be undiscovered. ‘The Michoacan habitat comes nearest that
on Cerro de la Muerte, Costa Rica, where one was netted (also in late
August) “in thick, scrubby second growth in an area of partly-cleared
oak forest .... No other Spodiornis was seen in the area, and the bird
was probably a wandering individual” (Stiles & Hespenheide 1972).
But the Michoacan habitat is more open and less scrubby (and
wooded); while most evidence seems to point to a normal habitat at the
edge of cloud forest.

Some hard-to-find tropical birds are seldom seen outside of bamboo
thickets. But bamboo is absent here; the only vegetation at all
resembling a bamboo thicket is a small patch of woody Lasiacis nigra
(Paniaceae) at “El Salto”, 1 km east-northeast of the El Temazcal ranch
at 2240 m altitude. Here there persist traces of cloud forest, with
Clethra, Cornus, and Oreopanax spp. (Bosque Mesofilo de Montana;
‘Takaki & Ibarra 1981). This type of vegetation is not widespread in the
region, but is found in some cafadas (draws or canyons) mixed with
oak-conifer woods, forming mosaics (Soto 1987).

Yet farther east in Pacific México, toward Central America, where
cloud forest is better developed (southern Guerrero and even in
Oaxaca; Binford 1989), Haplospiza remains undetected. In any case, its
presence in unbroken cloud forest is unlikely. It apparently feeds
entirely on vegetable matter (M. A. Ramos, notes; Stiles &
Hespenheide 1972), especially grass seeds when available, near or at

F.C. Barajas L. & A. R. Phillips 38 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

ground level. ‘These would be scarcer within a closed forest than at
openings.

At most times, these elusive birds must be extremely difficult to flush
or see. The concentration of most records in August to November
suggests post-breeding dispersal, as noted by Stiles & Skutch, or
dispersal of young. But this is evidently not long-range; see section on
the races of H. rustica, below.

Taxonomy

In the course of centuries, Haplospiza’s habitat is presumably very
unstable. For considering its vast range and widely disjunct
populations, H. rustica shows surprisingly little geographic variation.
Principally, the bill becomes smaller, more slender, southward. (As in
most highland birds, each main variation occurs at a major isthmus.)

At higher taxonomic levels, we see no reason to doubt that all its
forms are conspecific, nor that they are congeneric with H. unicolor.
Hellmayr (1938) retained for them the genus Spodiornis because of H.
unicolor’s ‘“‘thicker, basally more inflated bill and more _ pointed
wing’’—evidently a Jlapsus. He apparently overlooked Salvin &
Godman’s finding (quoted by Ridgway 1901) that the bill of H. 1.
uniformis is larger (not smaller) than wnicolor’s; and he saw only one
Middle American bird.

Presumably Hellmayr meant H. wnicolor’s less pointed wing. Or
perhaps he read Ridgway (1901) over-hastily. Ridgway evidently saw
no H. rustica at all; preceding his account of H. [r.] uniformis, his
generic description of Haplospiza is stated to be based on H. unicolor,
whose wing was “‘rounded (seventh and sixth primaries longest, ninth
shorter than fourth)’’. This difference is usually slight (except in the
Berlin Museum type). Indeed, an anomalous “Brazil? g¢ (BM
57.11—28.232, ex Gould) has primary no. 9 almost as long as 5 (and 8
equal to, or a bit longer than, 6). Another old “Brazil” bird (MCZ
76789 [2], ex Lafresnaye) also has the wings unusually pointed. (For
acronyms here and below, see Acknowledgements.)

But in most H. rustica (including the Berlin Museum type), primary
9 is decidedly longer than 5, while 8 is (usually slightly) longer that 6.
Thus “‘Spodiornis”’ has the more pointed wing, which is also longer: in
3 chord >66mm, vs <64 in most unicolor measured (once 66.5;
USNM). The tail is narrower, less rounded, and more definitely
notched in rustica; the central rectrices are 1-3 mm shorter than the
longest.

The single definitely juvenile unicolor seen (FMNH) is pale below,
mostly rather whitish, with olive-tinged wings and little rufescence.
With so many known differences, we doubt that unicolor is ‘Possibly
conspecific with H. rustica’ (Paynter 1970).

The races of H. rustica

As is usual when males are bright or uniformly coloured, racial
variation in colour is largely or entirely limited to females (and
presumably unworn juveniles, when available).

F.C. Barajas L. & A. R. Phillips 39 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

Our © gives the first hint of the colours of 2 uniformis—if indeed of
that race, as we must perforce suppose; its bill is very similar to the
type’s, carefully sketched for us by P. R. Colston. These two have the
longest, most swollen bills, confirming the type’s northern origin.

Should all the unknown, far-northern populations prove identical (a
risky assumption), 2 uniformis would have the most definite dark
streaking on the back, extending onto the lower back. Other differences
may be due to fresh plumage, recent collection, and/or individual
variation. Its wing and tail are duskier than other 99, and the back
rather dark. Though less rufescent than Central America 99, below and
above—especially the rump, wing-bars and -edgings—it is more
rufescent throughout than an El Triunfo, Chiapas, 2 [INIREB] of
almost identical date. (This is not due to “‘foxing’”’; F.C.B.L. used only
corn meal and, later, arsenic powder in preparing the skin.) Both these
1982 2° have the longest row of under secondary-coverts grey, while in
2° examined from Volcan Tacana, on the Guatemalan border (MICH),
to Costa Rica, they are white.

The range of uniformis was extended, long ago, to Chiapas (Brodkorb
1943, Miller & Moore 1954). This was a logical supposition;
Haplospiza was unknown between México and Costa Rica, and
barrilesensis of Panama was considered dubiously separable from
uniformis (its only character being supposedly smaller size). But
Chiapas birds now seem no larger than Costa Rican in any respect.
They do not have the long wing of 3 uniformis (type), nor the large
body of our 2 (which unfortunately has neither weight nor body
skeleton).

On the other side of the species’ range, South American rustica have
the bill small and slender. 29 are darker on the rump than Mexican 9°
and duller (less brownish) on the longer upper tail-coverts. Only in
fresh plumage do they show any rufescence on the tertials. They are
less rufescent below than true barrilesensis, at least on the flanks.

Central American birds thus differ from other races in bill size, and
from wuniformis in smaller size (2) and presumably (Michoacan
specimen) less definitely streaked 2. Among themselves they are
uniform in size and bill. But eventually, we believe, barrilesensis must
be restricted to Costa Rica and western Panama. Other 2° (Chiapas,
Honduras, etc.) are less reddish on the back, with more of a hint of dark
streaking (in this approaching our &); they are also less rufescent on the
crissum. But the chest is usually more rufescent, if the difference is not
seasonal. The throat is slightly more streaked. (They are tawnier below
than South American 29, with the chest streaks a bit broader except for
a South American juvenile.)

Though apparently distinctly smaller than uniformis (Fig. 1), this
difference is poorly reflected in the appendages. Only the wings of 33
are definitely smaller, and even these would probably overlap in a
series.

The need of colour specifications

Obviously, cases like Haplospiza present extreme handicaps to an
understanding of avian biodiversity. With a mere handful of specimens,

F.C. Barajas L. & A. R. Phillips 40 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

Figure 1. Comparison of our @ (far right) to other Middle American 99; right to left:
Volcan Tacana, Chiapas (MICH ‘“‘juv.”’, 21 March 1939); “Volcan Tacana, Chiapas’’
(RTM); Montecristo, Santa Ana, El Salvador (AMNH, 26 November 1975); and
southern Costa Rica (Talamanca Cordillera, AMNH, 4 May 1967).

mostly of unknown age, plumage, breeding condition (or at times even
sex, when young), from far-scattered places, the meaning of the
observed variations is uncertain. Some may even be due to wear and
fading in life, or to post-mortem changes; rarely do we know what
preservatives were used, or how carefully.

Widespread terrestrial birds (unless highly migratory) commonly
vary geographically in size and colour, often dramatically: Colinus
virginianus, Motacilla spp., Ammodramus sandwichensis, Melospiza
melodia, etc. With elusive species like Haplospiza, our best chance to
eventually understand their colour variations would be by promptly
comparing any we may capture to detailed colour standards—just as we
must compare, and preferably paint, species that fade rapidly after
death (see for example Phillips & Rook 1965 and Phillips 1991 on
Catharus dryas). We cannot safely foresee the amount of change. (Less
obvious changes probably require direct comparison to fresh material,

as shown for Pacific populations of Vireo huttoni by Rea, in Phillips
1991: 183-186.)

F.C. Barajas L. & A. R. Phillips 41 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

Our °’s rump, 2 years after collecting, was a slightly paled Olive of
Ridgway (1912) (copy in Division of Birds, USNM). From near 30
Olive of Smithe (1975, 1981), it verged toward 29 Brownish Olive, or
perhaps a paled 129 Dark Brownish Olive. (9 years after collecting, it is
closest to 49 Greenish Olive but browner, fide M. R. Browning.)
Compared to Munsell (1970), it was a deepened (2,5 Y [hue] x 5.0 Y)
4/4. The ground colour of the lower (adjacent) back was a deep, dulled
10.0 YR 4/4; the crown was still sootier, even the medial central part;
the forehead was duller, less rufescent.

The back, in Ridgway, was a reddened Saccardo’s Umber. (Nothing
in Smithe was at all close; the back posteriorly was a bit more rufescent
than mid-back, which was decidedly duller than 121A Prout’s Brown.)

The flanks, on the Munsell scale, varied around a rather paled 4/2
(10.0 YR). The ground colour of the chest was a bit duller, paler than
Central American 2° but brighter than those from Pert, more washed
with a dulled yYR 8/6 (=17.5) X Hue 7.5 8/6. Compared to Ridgway,
they were dulled (greyed) Saccardo’s Umber, while the chest was
washed with a decidedly dulled Ochraceous Buff ( x Chamois?); in
Smithe this wash was between 223C Sayal Brown and 223D Tawny
Olive.

Surely we cannot expect such detailed data to be pulished normally,
on less spectacular range extensions or species one might collect for
comparison (or find, recently taken, in some collection). But may we
suggest the establishment of some colour centre for agreed-on difficult
species, or new ones? Surely Haplospiza should be one of these. Thus
we might eventually pay more than lip service to biodiversity, studying
nature as it is (if habitats persist) rather than museum relics of
uncertain value.

While detailed colours of soft parts (iris, mouth, bill, etc.) should also
be recorded, in Haplospiza we see little evidence of geographic
variation. Monroe (1968) suggested that “‘the Mexican race, S. r.
uniformis ... has a light-coloured lower mandible’’, but that this may
be age variation. (Which age is dark, and which race inhabits
Honduras, were never stated.) But contra Monroe, our @ had, in 1984,
a distinctly blacker-grey mandible than less recent (1960s, 1970s)
Central and South American 93 and 929. We also note the ‘“‘pale horn’”’
mandible of a Bolivian ¢ (FMNH) (A [8] unicolor, MCZ, had mandible
yellow-whitish below, its sides black.) Young birds and non-breeders
may be darker, and bills may fade.

Skin and skeletal measurements

Despite the evidently large size of our 2 (Fig. 1), available skin
measurements of Mexican and Central American Haplospiza show
mainly individual variation (Table 1). Presumably skeletons would be
more instructive. In their absence, we must at least strive for
standardized, reliable skin measurements, as little influenced as
possible by the taker. Small measurements (bill, feet) in small birds
must vary by a considerable % with different techniques and

Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

42

F.C. Barajas L. & A. R. Phillips

jNys PI9dI10J [[Iq ‘uoisjod “yg Aq posnseoyy Z
[i:7v 1a] taqiny.[, Aq poinsesyyy |

‘s][Nse1 JUaIOYIp APYSI[S YM suOTsedDO0 Z UO poiNseoUt

sem uowitoeds B 10 palsyip ssuIM Z dy} UdYM ‘sosvIOAv ov S}JUIWInsveU Sq YW ‘peyou se ydaoxe ‘gq yy Aq s}UsUEINsBoU UTYSG “sazOAy

[SUISSIU XII}901 [BIQU9D | £4]
a a =e Sa = S'6r
LOL = mS ON Slt
oa O59 os = Lil £°OS
= ae ae Se a [+]p Lp
(gOS XIq}901 |)
= L9 6 = = 8h
(10S X149904 ])
FST ips =a az ae Cc 8r
Sana — oa ae = SLE E Lb
oY) GS FIC Sel SSP
= 209 z0'S =a = S'6r

(3) 3M Ydep Wpim juaixe Yysu9] HEL
‘[I4jsou 38 [IG “SBOUl YSI[

[ur] (NSN ‘InbraryD) waps
“UII (1uapl) mapr

(HNINV ‘InbraryD) eureueg
[anf] (ZOW “FyseD) Bony BIsoD

(HNIAY ‘0128ARN) RORY BISOD

SMOPUIM ‘ys Ivat [spe] (ZAIN ‘SO “[OA) BOTY ysODd
£¢ (CIALLY) Seinpuory

“wl ((AUMINI ‘oyunt4yy, [q) sederyD

(ING ‘9d4}) szusofiun

PP

(HNIAYV ‘849 [[ptog evourweye fy) vorny veisod
[(é) war] (ZOIN $4929) Bory e1se

poures

(HNIWY) Jopeares 14

(IN.LY) [é] ewes

‘ant (HOI ‘eueoey, JOA) sederyD
(QAUMINI ‘Ofuntsy, [q) sederyD

(é) “Wr (HNSIN() ueseoypryyy

aaaS
OO

(winesnuw) voy

poysns vzidsojqv FT JO (UU) S}UdWaINsvafy
TL a Tavib

F.C. Barajas L. & A. R. Phillips 43 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

instruments, individual judgment of exact end-points, and position and
curvature of dried toes (and proper closing of bills by preparators).

Larger measurements, too, have pitfalls. Tails may be shoved
forward under the skin or lack a central rectrix (and the point of
insertion is often hard to ascertain). Occasionally post-mortem drying
may lengthen this measurement by 1 or 1.5 mm and shorten the wing.

Wing measurements vary chiefly with the technique used. The arc or
flat wing depends on the pressures applied (and the completeness of
drying). The chord should be reliable, if wings were not jammed
forward into folds of skin, or distorted, shot, moulting, etc. But authors
often fail to specify their methods, and may even mix them. Thus
Miller & Moore (1954) obviously measured the chord, but compared
their Chiapas 2 (‘64.7’) to Brodkorb’s flattened “69 mm’’.

Nor are measurements always reliable. We hardly suppose that
Moore quietly changed his method in reporting (Moore & Medina
1957) wings of the 2 Honduras J as 73.6 and 71.2 mm. While Monroe
(1968) gave these as smaller (72.5, 69.0), this agrees only with A.R.P.’s
measurements of the longer wing; in each case the other wing was still
shorter, while Monroe’s tail measurements (43.7, 45.6) are decidedly
shorter than A.R.P.’s.

Reported measurements of a single bird’s wing and tail may thus
vary about 7.5% in Middle American Haplospiza. While this figure is
seldom approached, caution is warranted. Errors in other cases have
been still greater: two surprisingly long-winged Hermit Thrushes
Catharus guttatus (117, 121”? mm; Miller 1955) were re-measured, at
A.R.P.’s request, as 101.3 mm and 101.4 mm (Phillips 1991: 77; see
also pp. 79-80, 86).

Obviously, the first step before taking a measurement should be to
make sure that it is valid. But current bio-statistics ignores this. Thus
the first specimen of a supposedly new swift appears as a female with a
very short wing and tail in Navarro et al. 1992: 59; but A.R.P. had
labelled it (10 July 1979) “O"'(?), ims Ovary Oe with all rectrices
pin-feathers, wings in moult, and both length in flesh and extent
(wingspan) therefore followed ‘by a “[+]” sign. Clearly noone read the
label or examined the feathers; but they gave full data on coefficients of
variation, bootstrapped distributions, etc.

But standard skin measurements, even of full-grown Haplospiza etc.,
tell us less than the whole bird (weighed and uniformly measured in the
flesh, before or after rigor mortis) and skeletal material. All this was
neglected and discarded in the past, even in the case of the clearly
unique type of Edithornis sylvestris Mayr (see Greenway 1973: 210,
316).

For comparability (repeatability), A.R.P. advocates and uses extreme
measurements in the flesh, stretching the bird as far as possible without
disarticulating any bones. Assuredly this seems ugly and unnatural, but
We are scientists, not artists; variations due to individual judgments
must be eliminated if possible i in the study of biodiversity.

‘The extreme length is best read with the bird on its back on the ruler.
But extent (wingspan) is easier to determine with the breast down. The
primaries must retain their normal shape, without pressure; and the

F.C. Barajas L. & A. R. Phillips 44 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

wing must not be flexed down toward the ruler, or back toward the
body or tail.

‘This can be regular procedure; it is not unduly time-consuming or
difficult. We need not await extraordinary opportunities to measure and
preserve what we can; when in doubt, save—even unprepossessing 2
finches. If they prove common, we have lost nothing.

The riddles of Haplospiza

In most birds, such an extraordinary extension of range would be
immediately suspect. But in Haplospiza such anomalous records seem
almost routine. Human transport, storms, or hurricanes cannot account
for the 2 far-northern records (accepting Montes de Oca’s). At the
opposite end, there are now 3 reports of supposedly accidental H.
unicolor in Buenos Aires province, Argentina (Di Giacomo & Di
Giacomo 1991). In El Salvador, as cited above, it was suspected of
being a vagrant only; yet the 3 El Salvador records exceed those of any
nearby country. Outside of Costa Rica, only 2 Middle American areas
have more than 3 records: adjacent western Panama (Chiriqui) and the
Sierra Madre de Chiapas, extreme southeastern México. And in
Panama, once more, there is an anomalous out-of-range specimen from
the province of Panama (Wetmore et al. 1984). (We omit here the
unique type of H. rustica arcana [Wetmore & Phelps, Jr.] from Bolivar,
Venezuela; ornithologists are even more ‘accidental’? on Cerro
Chimanta-tepui than Haplospiza.)

Normally, Haplospiza must be extraordinarily adept at hiding and
avoiding the need to fly when approached. A.R.P. once witnessed such
behaviour in an obviously different, undescribed Mexican bird he
nearly stepped on; he could not tramp it up again in a small sloping
opening (of probably 2 acre or less) with grass in rather small clumps,
on a wooded hillside. Small wonder the nests, eggs, and small young of
Haplospiza remain undescribed.

Besides the extraordinary difficulty of finding most Haplospiza, the
variation in wing-formula is quite unexpected, if indeed all those in
Brazil are of the same species and race.

Acknowledgements

For permission to collect, F.C.B.L. is indebted to the (Former) Secretaria de Desarrollo
Urbano y Ecologia, México, D. F., and to Dr. Santiago Barajas C.

We are especially indebted to the authorities of the U.S. National Museum of Natural
History (USNM) and the National Fish and Wildlife Laboratories, who enabled A.R.P.
to compare our Q, in April 1984 and later, to all the Middle American specimens known
to him in United States collections except the Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ,
which he visited) and California Academy of Sciences, plus good South American series.
Specimens were lent by the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), Carnegie
Museum of Natural History (CM), Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), Moore
Laboratory of Zoology at Occidental College (RTM), Museum of Vertebrate Zoology of
the University of California (MVZ), and University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
(MICH). Other Chiapas birds, from the (then) INIREB collection (Instituto Nacional de
Investigaciones sobre Recursos Bidticos), were later compared to our 9 through the
courtesy of M. A. Ramos. And previously A.R.P. had examined specimens at the British
Museum (Natural History) (BM) and the museums of Berlin and Bremen.

F.C. Barajas L. & A. R. Phillips 45 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

We thank the authorities of all these institutions. We are also indebted to M. R.
Browning for re-comparing our specimen’s rump and for help with references; to P. R.
Colson for careful sketches, descriptions, and measurements of important specimens in
BM; to M. A. Ramos for additional help; and to R. L. Zusi for photographing specimens.
We thank F. Guevara F. for identifying the woody Laszacis.

References:

Binford, L. C. 1989. A distributional survey of the birds of the Mexican state of Oaxaca.
Orn. Monogr. 43, Am. Orn. Union.

Brodkorb, P. 1943. Notes on two rare birds in Chiapas, Mexico. Auk 60: 280-282.

Chapman, F. M. 1898. Notes on birds observed at Jalapa and Las Vigas, Vera Cruz,
Mexico. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 10: 15-43.

Di Giacomo, A. G. & Di Giacomo, A. S. 1991. Nuevo registro de Haplospiza unicolor en
Buenos Aires. Nuestras Aves (Bol. Asoc. Orn. del Plata) 24: 27.

Ferrari-Pérez, F. 1886. Catalogue of Animals Collected by the Geographical and
Exploring Commission of the Republic of Mexico. Part 2, Birds. Proc. U. S. Natl
Mus. 9:130-182.

Greenway, J. C., Jr. 1973. Type specimens of birds in the American Museum of Natural
History. Part 1. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 150.

Hellmayr, C. E. 1938. Catalogue of Birds of the Americas and the adjacent islands. Part
XI. Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Publ. Zool. Ser. 13.

Land, H. C. 1970. Birds of Guatemala. Livingston Publ. Co., Wynnewood, Pa.

Martinez-Sanchez, J. C. 1989. Records of new or little known birds for Nicaragua.
Condor 91: 468-469.

Miller, A. H. 1955. The avifauna of the Sierra del Carmen of Coahuila, México. Condor
57: 154-178.

Miller, A. H. & Moore, R. T. 1954. A further record of the Slaty Finch in México.
Condor 56: 310-311.

Monroe, B. L., Jr. 1968. A distributional survey of the birds of Honduras. Orn. Monogr.
7, Am. Orn. Union.

Moore, R. T. & Medina, D. R. 1957. A record of the Slaty Finch for Honduras. Condor
59: 67.

Munsell (anonymous) 1970. Munsell Book of Color. Munsell Color Co., Baltimore,
Maryland.

Navarro S., A. G., Peterson, A. T., Escalante P., B. P. & Benitez, D. H. 1992. Cypseloides
storeri, a new species of swift from Mexico. Wilson Bull. 104: 55-64.

Paynter, R. A., Jr. 1970. Subfamily Emberizinae. Pp. 3-214 im R. A. Paynter, Jr. (ed.),
Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 13. Museum of Comparative Zoology,
Harvard.

Phillips, A. R. 1991. The Known Birds of North and Middle America. Part 2. Privately
published, Denver, Colorado.

Phillips, A. R. & Rook, W. 1965. A new race of the Spotted Nightingale-Thrush from
Oaxaca, México. Condor 67: 2-5.

Ridgway, R. 1901. The birds of North and Middle America. Part I. Bull. U. S. Natl
Mus. 50, Part I.

Ridgway, R. 1912. Color Standards and Color Nomenclature. Privately published,
Washington, D.C.

Slud, P. 1964. The birds of Costa Rica: distribution and ecology. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat.
Hist. 128.

Smithe, F. B. 1975, 1981. Naturalist’s Color Guide, with Supplement. Am. Mus. Nat.
Hist., New York.

Soto N. J. C. 1987. Las plantas medicinales y su uso tradicional en la cuenca del Rio
Balsas, estados de Michoacan y Guerrero, México. Tesis Profesional, Univ. Nac.
Auton. Méx.

Stiles, F. G. & Hespenheide, H. A. 1972. Observations on two rare Costa Rican finches.
Condor 74: 99-101.

Stiles, F. G. & Skutch, A. F. 1989. A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica. Comstock
Publishing Associates, Ithaca, New York.

Takaki, T. & Ibarra, G. 1981. Guias botanicas de excursiones en México. Excursion a las
Sierras de Otzumatlan Mil Cumbres y de San Andrés (Los Azufres). V Congreso de
la Soc. Bot. Mexicana, Morelia, Michoacan.

F.C. Straube 46 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

Thurber, W. A., Serrano, J. F., Sermeno, A. & Benitez, M. 1987. Status of uncommon
and previously unreported birds of El Salvador. Proc. Western Found. Vert. Zool. 3:
109-293.

Wetmore, A., Pasquier, R. F. & Olson, S. L. 1984. The birds of the Republic of Panama.
Part 4. Smiths. Misc. Coll. 150.

Addresses: F. C. Barajas L., Museo de Historia Natural de la Universidad Michoacana,
Av. Ventura Puente No. 23, Morelia 58020, Michoacan, México. A. R. Phillips,
Reforma 825-A, Col. Chapultepec, San Nicolas de los Garza 66450, Nuevo Leén,
México.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994

On the validity of Anumbius annumbi machrisi

Stager, 1959 (Furnariidae, Aves)

by Fernando Costa Straube
Received 26 January 1993

The Firewood-gatherer Anumbius annumbi is a widely distributed
species in central and southern South America. It occurs from the
Brazilian states of ‘Tocantins, Goias and Minas Gerais south to Rio
Grande do Sul, as well as into Uruguay and eastern Argentina (Pinto
1978).

Three specimens of this species were collected near Sao Joao da
Alianga (now in the state of Tocantins) and are the basis of a form that
appeared to be a new subspecies A. a. machrist, originally described by
Stager (1959). This form was distinguished from the nominate race by
the reduced number of black spots around the periphery of the white
throat and distinctive streaking on the mantle and crown. The validity
of this subspecies has been questioned (Pinto 1978, Vaurie 1980), but
no detailed studies have been made.

I analysed 52 specimens of A. annumbi deposited in the
ornithological collections of Museu de Historia Natural “‘Capao da
Imbuia”’ (Curitiba), Museu Nacional (Rio de Janeiro, including the
holotype of A. a. machrisi MN-32291), and Museu Paraense Emilio
Goeldi (Belém). The specimens represent the entire range of the
species and were collected from Tocantins, Goias, Mato Grosso, Minas
Gerais, Sao Paulo, Parana, Santa Cun Rio @rande do Sul (Brazil)
and Buenos Aires (Argentina).

Vaurie (1980) examined a series of 152 specimens and concluded that
the two paratypes of A. a. machrisi ‘differ from birds from the other
populations of the species in having the black spots surrounding the
throat more reduced in number and size’ and that “the other
characters mentioned for this new form fall, however, within the range
of individual variation of the other populations’. I agree with Vaurie,
but the pattern of gular spotting is also highly variable.

I examined a series of 21 specimens from Parana (southern Brazil)
and found that birds varied in three ways with respect to throat

F.C. Straube 47 Bull, B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

Figure 1. Sketches of three specimens of Anumbius annumbi, showing the black spots of
the throat of two Parana skins (upper right and bottom) and the holotype of A. a. machrisi
(upper left) (drawings by the author).

markings. Some birds had large spots that were densely distributed on
the throat; others had scattered spots on the sides of the throat; and still
others had only a few small black spots at the base of the mandible (like
the holotype of A. a. machrisi; see Fig. 1). The same degree of
individual variation of black spots on a whitish throat occurs in other
furnariids, e.g. Clibanornis dendrocolaptoides; this variation does not
appear to be correlated with age or geographic range. In fact two
specimens of A. annumbi collected on the same date and from the same
locality have completely ossified skulls, enlarged gonads and very
different patterns of throat spotting.

Additionally, I observed that two other characters used to distinguish
A. a. machrisi were highly variable; the forehead is not always
uniformly chestnut, and the mantle streaking is not less conspicuous
than in the nominate race.

The only diagnostic difference I could find on the holotype was that
the dark brown streakings on the crown were less conspicuous. Even
this fieldmark differed among 8 specimens from one collection site in
Goias. In short, the crown streaks vary greatly in shape, number and
colour in all parts of the range of this species. Thus, I conclude that
Anumbius annumbi machrisi Stager, 1959 is asynonym of the monotypic
species Anumbius annumbi (Vieillot, 1817).

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the Brazilian Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e
Tecnoldégico, which partially supported my researches. I also thank Dante M. Teixeira,
David Oren and José Maria Cardoso da Silva for access to the specimens housed in their

P. A. Clancey 48 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

collections. Pedro Scherer-Neto, Dante M. Teixeira, Miguel A. Marini, Douglas
Robinson and Scott Robinson made useful suggestions on earlier drafts of this
manuscript.

References:

Pinto, O.M. de O. 1978. Novo catalogo das aves do Brasil, pt.1. Empr. Graf. Rev. dos
Tribunais. Sao Paulo.

Stager, K. 1959. The Machris Brazilian Expedition, Ornithology: two new birds from
Central Goias, Brazil. Los Angeles County Mus. Contr. Sci. 33: 3-6.

Vaurie, C. 1980. Taxonomy and geographical distribution of the Furnariidae (Aves,
Passeriformes). Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 166: 5-357.

Address: Fernando Costa Straube, Se¢ao de Ornitologia, Museu de Histéria Natural
““Capao da Imbuia’’. Rua Benedito Conceic¢ao, 407. Curitiba (PR), Brazil 82810-080.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993

The austral races of the Afrotropical
Fiery-necked Nightjar Caprimulgus pectoralis
Cuvier, 1816

by P. A. Clancey
Received 8 February 1993

The two currently recognised subspecies of Caprimulgus pectoralis
Cuvier, 1816, present in the southern parts of its range are the
nominate race, the type-locality of which is George, southern Cape (ex
Levaillant), and C. p. fervidus Sharpe, 1875, described from
Damaraland, Namibia, on four C. J. Andersson specimens from the
northeast of the territory. Unlike the nominate form, fervidus is seen as
centred on a major biome, the extensive Brachystegia woodland
savanna (Miombo) of south-central Africa, south of the Lower Guinea
Forest. C. pectoralis affects moist woodland and forest edge, lies up in
shade on the ground during the day, but seeks relatively open localities
at dusk for feeding purposes. A third race, C. (p.) nigriscapularis
Reichenow, named in 1893 from Songa, west of Lake Albert, eastern
Zaire, represents the species in the main to the north of the Equator,
reaching western Kenya and adjacent Uganda. Some workers, notably
Fry & Harwin (1988), but see also Louette (1990), give it separate
species rank, and it is, accordingly, not dealt with in the present
contribution.

During nidification, C. p. fervidus is sympatric with northern
elements of the strongly migratory Rufous-cheeked Nightjar C.
rufigena A. Smith, 1845, which sojourns (April—September) in the
savanna belt of the northern Afrotropics, whereas C. p. pectoralis and
C. p. fervidus are only given to short-range movements and are
environmentally more mesic than rufigena, which, certainly on its
breeding grounds, favours desertic or semi-desertic conditions. Also

P. A. Clancey 49 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

occurring alongside these two comparably-sized species is_ the
Mozambique Nightjar C. fossa Hartlaub, 1857, which has an austral
distribution somewhat analogous to that of C. pectoralis, but is still
more prone than it to local movements and short-term concentrations.
It has been customary to view C. pectoralis as a resident nightjar, but it
is now well-established that it is subject to rain-front and post-breeding
related population shifts, resulting in both localized temporary
absences and influxes. Support for this conclusion is furnished by
Jackson (1978) and Irwin (1981) who record that in Zimbabwe the
species breeds in August-December (63 records) and that later, from
November, there is a major exodus of the local population. For Zambia,
Benson et al. (1971) give comparable breeding times, with peak
abundance in the upper Kafue R. basin in April, long after breeding;
later and immediately in advance of breeding, concentrations (of
returning migrants?) have been noted from Mongu in the west to
Chipata in the east.

In South Africa, Maclean (1985) also records seasonal relocation of
numbers from the eastern lowlands to the plateau (November—April),
the basis of which is debatable, as the dates do not accord with the
breeding season given by the same author for the region as a whole. All
southern populations of the Fiery-necked Nightjar breeding to the
south of 14°S lay from late July or August through to late November
and early December, concentrations at other times resulting from
rain-front withdrawal movements and short-range migrations. That
there is some variability in movement patterns from year to year is
clear, as Kemp et al. (1985) comment that on the plateau of the
Transvaal (at Nylsvley, near Nylstroom) the present nightjar is
“common some years and unrecorded in others’’, comparable
irregularity of incidence being likewise recorded from Natal localities.
While available data are somewhat inconclusive, it can be postulated
that in years of particularly high rainfall local conditions may be
temporarily rendered unsuitable for breeding, necessitating a shift to
more open and perhaps drier plateau habitats. The breeding season is
essentially correlated with the terminal stages of the dry season in the
southern Afrotropics and the commencement of the main rains.

Current inadequate understanding of the extent and disposition of
the species’ post-breeding movements, and particularly the characters
and distribution of C. p. fervidus, gave rise to the present enquiry. This
has shown incontrovertibly that fervidus is composite and requires to be
re-arranged in three rather than a single subspecies, for one of which a
new name is introduced below.

Individual variation is extensive, but the broad general patterns of
geographically based variation are not in question, affecting overall
colouration, the extent and brightness of the light hind neck-bar, the
colour of the ear-coverts, malar streaks, fore-throat and breast, and
degree of barring to the underside. Both sexes vary widely in size, with
much overlap in size between populations, but with the incidence of
short-tailed birds increasing significantly in the east of the range in
association with low altitude and perhaps the high level of summer
daytime temperatures.

P. A. Clancey 50 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

TABLE 1
Wing- and tail-length parameters (in mm) in the four subspecies of the Fiery-necked
Nightjar Caprimulgus pectoralis

Wings Tails
n range mean _ s.d. range mean s.d.
pectoralis Bie AL 158-174.5 165.3 5.18 110.5-131 122.7 5.86

PORTO 157-170 MON oIb sc ans7 11S =128 25123 0S asa

crepusculans 66. 12 152-172 160.7 4.99 110=130:5e% D922 eaiG29
22 ~=—s:10 153-163 158.1 3.10 110-121 114.6. 3218

fervidus 66 12 158-1715 "1164.7" 4.46 115-127 All» SL)
Oe lO 159-172 164.8 4.46 119-127 WTO oc ANY)

shelleyt 36e 10 160-177 168.2 4.66 115-132 123.8 4.56

Notes. It will be appreciated that there is little meaningful size-difference between the
sexes in C. pectoralis, both structures dealt with varying widely. Variation in size of
taxonomic import is to be found in the eastern humid littoral C. p. crepusculans, in which
the incidence of individual birds with the tail-length 120 mm and below is well in excess
of that in the other southern races. Louette (1990) shows C. (p.) nigriscapularis is still
shorter-tailed than crepusculans, with 13 ¢2 from both eastern and western Zaire having
wings 147-158.5, and tails 104-115 mm. The white rectricial apices are also smaller. In
the case of the Shaba, Zaire, population herein dealt with as part of C. p. shelleyi, Louette
gives the wings of 10 dg as 155-164.5 (160.0), tails 107-129 (118.2), wings of 11 9°
146-162.5 (158.0), tails of 10 109-123.5 (115.5) mm.

From my recent review of the forms of C. pectoralis, sensu stricto, and
their seasonal movements, I now recognise four subspecies, as set out
below.

Caprimulgus pectoralis pectoralis Cuvier
Caprimulgus pectoralis Cuvier, Régne Anim., vol. 1, 1816, p. 376: Africa,
based on Levaillant, pl. 49=George, southern Cape. Synonyms:

Caprimulgus africanus Stephens, 1817; Caprimulgus atrovarius

Sundevall, 1851.

Over upper-parts generally Deep Mouse Gray (Ridgway 1912),
finely vermiculated with darker grey, the medial crown broadly
streaked with black and hind-neck with narrow bar of buff. Scapulars
boldly marked with jet black subapical segments, edged with buff.
Ear-coverts, malar streaks and fore-throat Bone Brown to blackish-
brown, the feathers finely sub-terminally banded with cream-buff;
lateral throat panels white, the caudad feathers broadly tipped with
black; breast similar to fore-throat, i.e. relatively dusky, vermiculated
and finely barred with buff and washed with umber brown; rest of
ventral surface Cinnamon-Buff transversely barred with dark brown,
extending to flanks and crissal surfaces.

Measurements. See Table 1. In a series of 22 G2 from the Cape 27%
had tails of 120 mm or less.

Range. Western Cape from northern Little Namaqualand to the Cape
of Good Hope, east generally south of the Great Karoo to the eastern

P. A. Clancey 51 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

Cape, adjacent interior Transkei and southwestern Orange Free State
(on the Orange R.). Partially migratory, ranging after breeding from
c. April/May to Natal, lowlands of Zululand, eastern ‘Transvaal,
southeastern Zimbabwe, with one from Nangweshi, Barotse Province,
Zambia (16°22’S, 23°18’E), dated 16 July 1952. Return movement from
about early September. Southern and southeastern Cape specimens
taken May—September (18 out of a series of 27) confirm post-breeding
emigration is only partial.

Remarks. Relatively cold greyish tone to upper-parts, narrow buffy
hind neck-bar, heavy black coronal streaking and spotting to scapulars,
as well as blackish-brown ear-coverts, fore-throat and breast surfaces
and broad ventral barring distinguish this race.

Grant & Mackworth-Praed (1954) discuss this subspecies on the basis
of the material then available in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.)
collection, recording that a specimen from Ulundi in Zululand is seen as
referable to it. They were seemingly unaware of the post-breeding
movements of both nominate pectoralis and other races, which can result
in the taking of two or more different forms in the same general area.

Caprimulgus pectoralis crepusculans subsp. nov.

Type. g adult. On road to Charters Creek, near Hlabisa, Lake St.
Lucia, eastern Zululand, sea level, 6 April 1979. Road casualty (ex
Natal Parks Board). In the collection of the Durban Natural Science
Museum, Mus. Reg. No. 32 603.

Description. Compared with C. p. pectoralis lighter over upper-parts,
ground-colour more cryptic ochraceous-buff, not cold grey brownish-
black, coronal shaft-streaking appreciably narrower, and with small
black buff-tipped segments to scapulars; hind neck-bar rather broader,
more reddish in colour but with deep buff shaft-streaking. On
underside with ear-coverts, malar streaks, fore-throat and breast much
lighter, less dark greyish, approaching Dresden Brown, breast
transversely vermiculated with dusky and buff; rest of underside paler
buff, with finer barring, which declines markedly over flanks and crissal
surfaces, which are mainly plain. Wings more warmly tinged with
reddish-buff, lesser-coverts less blackish. Tail frequently more coarsely
banded and vermiculated with brownish-black. Similar in size to
nominate race, but tail tending to be shorter (120 mm or less in 73% of
22 32). Measurements of type: wing (flattened) 161, tail 120 mm. See
Table 1.

Material examined. 30. Natal: Kokstad, Ixopo, Pietermaritzburg,
Durban; Zululand: Maphumulo Game Reserve, Hluhluwe Game
Reserve, Lake St Lucia, Hlabisa, Gwaliweni Forest (Ingwavuma),
Ndumu Game Reserve; Swaziland: Umbuluzi Game Reserve (c.
26°30'S, 32°00’E): Transvaal: Mokeetsi, Louis Trichardt, Sebasa;
Mozambique: Bela Vista, Chimonzo, Chicumbane, Panda, Rumbacaga,
Inhaminga, Muxe; Zimbabwe: Humani Ranch (20°30’s, 32°16’E),
Sentinel Ranch (22°09’S, 29°28’E).

Range. Midlands and coast of Transkei to Natal and Zululand,
eastern Swaziland, eastern lowveld of Transvaal, southeastern lowlands

P. A. Clancey 52 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

WALYIS
Bay

ORANGE RIVER

EAST LONDON

T ELIZABETH

Figure 1. Breeding ranges in southern Africa of the races of the Fiery-necked Nightjar
Caprimulgus pectoralis: 1, C. p. pectoralis; 2, C. p. crepusculans; 3, C. p. fervidus; 4, C. p.
shelley.

of Zimbabwe (e.g. lower Sabi R. valley), and Mozambique. Northern
limits not determined, but probably also southeastern lowland
‘Tanzania. Largely sedentary. Breeds late August-December.

Etymology. Crepusculans from Latin, of dusk, i.e. active at sundown
or before daybreak, and in the half light of moon-lit nights.

Remarks. 'The Zululand topotypical population of crepusculans is
seasonally (May to late August/September) greatly outnumbered by
wintering examples of nominate pectoralis from further south.
McLachlan & Liversidge (1970) record that eggs of what they refer to
as C. p. fervidus (but probably=C. p. crepusculans) are smaller than
those of nominate C. pectoralis: 23-27.2 x 18-19.4 (n=6), versus
29.8 X 20.5 and 28.8 x 20 (n=2) mm.

Caprimulgus pectoralis fervidus Sharpe

Caprimulgus fervidus Sharpe, in Layard & Sharpe’s Birds of South
Africa, new ed., 1875, p. 86: ‘““‘Damaraland”=Owamboland (Ovam-
boland), northern Namibia.

P. A. Clancey 53 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

(Note. The paratypical series of four specimens collected by C. J.
Andersson was taken in Owamboland, Otjoro, at Elephant Vlei (c 18°S,
18°E), and ‘“‘between Owamboland and the Omuramba Omatako’’ in
the northeast of Namibia in 1859.)

Dorsally similar to C. p. crepusculans, but ranging paler, this most
marked over sides of crown, caudad scapulars and tertials. Black mid-
coronal shaft-streaking coarse, and as in nominate pectoralis, but sharply
edged bright tawny; hind neck-bar broader, lighter and more orange-
tawny, the flery effect heightened by the wider light buff shaft-streaks
and tips; mantle and lower back to rump overlaid with tawny, which
colour also bleeds into upper tail-coverts and wings (in crepusculans the
dorsal surface behind the hind neck-bar lacks any tawny suffusion).
Differs sharply in having ear-coverts, malar streaks, entire fore-throat
and upper breast more or less plain Tawny/Russet, and in reduced light
brown vermicular barring on lower breast; rest of underside with still
less barring than in crepusculans. Wings and tail lighter.

Measurements. See Table 1. Size similar to nominate pectoralis; 59%
of 22 32 with tail 120 mm or less.

Range. Southwestern and southern Angola to the south of the
Miombo woodland savanna, northern Namibia to north and northeast
of the Etosha National Park, east to Kavango and the Caprivi Strip,
northern and eastern Botswana, the plateau of Zimbabwe and the
western and northern ‘Transvaal to the north of the highveld.
Migratory with post-breeding movements seemingly northerly oriented
and centred on the south- and east-central African tropics, but precise
disposition uncertain, though reaching northern Zambia, southeastern
Zaire and ‘Tanzania. Louette (1990) refers to a ‘“‘rufous morph”’ from
Kinshasa, Lower Zaire, which probably represents C. p. fervidus as
here defined.

Remarks. Contrary to statements in the standard literature, this race
is not largely restricted to the Miombo savanna, as much of the range
outlined above lies beyond the Miombo limits. Its general colour
suggests a desertic or semi-desertic origin, its currently extended,
tenuous and somewhat peripheral range being possibly a secondary
outcome of competition with the more xeric C. rufigena at some stage in
the past. The two nightjar species are closely similar in general
appearance and have been consistently confused, even by one as
knowledgeable as Reichenow (1900-1901). The paratypical series of C.
p. fervidus in the collection of the Natural History Museum, Tring, is
subspecifically composite, with an Elephant Vlei specimen dated 29
October 1859 an example of C. p. shelleyi, as recognised hereunder.

It is of no small evolutionary significance that virtually the entire
range of C. p. fervidus as here determined is in effect the zone of breeding
sympatry of C. pectoralis and C. rufigena, in which the former species is
even more extensively and intensely rufescent than its congener over the
lateral and hind surfaces of the head, fore-throat and breast.

Caprimulgus pectoralis shelleyi Bocage
Caprimulgus Shelleyi Bocage, Jorn. Acad. Sci. Lisboa, vol. xxiv, 1879,
p. 266: Caconda, northern Huila, Angola.

P. A. Clancey 54 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

Nyctisyrigmus kwalensis Davis, Pan American Studies, vol. i, 2, 1978,
p. 266: Kwale, south-eastern Kenya, at 4°10’S, 39°27’E. Nomen
nudum (see comment below).

Somewhat similar to nominate pectoralis over upper-parts, differing
in the neck-bar being broader and with redder ground-colour; broad
shaft-streaking light buff. Cheeks, malar streaks, fore-throat and breast
lighter and browner, much less dusky, 1.e., not blackish Bone Brown,
and with transverse ventral barring restricted to lateral lower breast;
adjacent sides, flanks and crissal surfaces plain buff.

Compared with C. p. fervidus, with ear-coverts to malar streaks,
fore-throat and breast variegated fuscous brown and buffy, not plain
‘Tawny/Russet, and upper-parts duller, without an extension of tawny
overlay to the mantle, rump and upper tail-coverts; longer scapulars
and tertials less pallid. Underside with the buff of the breast duller, the
lower barring as described in the case of fervidus.

Measurements. See Table 1. Similar in size to nominate pectoralis, but
only 1 of 10 G2 measured with tail less than 120 mm. Rosa Pinto (1983)
gives the following measurements of 60 Angolan specimens, most of
which were from populations of C. p. shelleyi judging by the localities
listed in the general text: wings of G2 157-177, tails 116-136 mm.
Weights 42-63 g. It will be noticed that these measurements range
greater than those given here for nominate pectoralis, crepusculans and
fervidus.

Range. ‘The plateau of Angola, southern Zaire to the south of the
Lower Guinea Forest, Zambia, northern Malawi and southwestern
‘Tanzania. Post-breeding movements in these populations uncertain,
but with evidence of some southward, possibly rain-front motivated,
occurrence to northern Namibia, northern Botswana, and northwestern
Zimbabwe (Mica Hills, near Dett, 1 August 1930).

Remarks. Despite its well-marked characters, C. p. shelleyi has never
been discussed in the literature, the populations now grouped under it
being invariably treated as C. p. fervidus and even C. rufigena.

Comment on Nyctisyrigmus kwalensis Davis, 1978. This proposed
additional species of Afrotropical nightjar, named in a privately
published journal entitled Pan American Studies, is based on a single
recording made by G. Stuart Keith at Kwale, south-eastern Kenya, in
1961, and made available to Davis by the late Myles E. W. North; the
spectrogram reproduced on p. 48 of Davis’s second paper on nightjars
in Pan American Studies, shown alongside one claimed to be of C. p.
fervidus, agrees closely in pattern with it, even if very badly faded.

This name, notwithstanding having been based on a song recording,
is seemingly valid in terms of Article 23 (f) of the International Code of
Zoological Nomenclature of 1985. This mandates “‘that names
established on any part or form of an animal or on its works’’, continues
under (i) “‘even if any part of an animal is named before the whole
animal’’, are available. This can be construed to include a diagnostic
vocalisation, even if a recorded version of it. Be that as it may, N.
kwalensis cannot reliably be used subspecifically and requires to be
treated as a nomen nudum in line with the views of Vuilleumier ez al.

(1992).

N. Krabbe & F. Sornoza M. 55) Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

Acknowledgements

I am indebted to P. R. Colston, Natural History Museum, Tring for the loan of part of
the paratypical series of Caprimulgus fervidus Sharpe of 1875. The series in the East
London and Transvaal Museums were kindly made available through their resident
ornithologists, while H. D. Jackson, now of Auckland, New Zealand, helped with the
provision of copies of obscure literature on African nightjars. To all concerned I tender
my sincere thanks.

References:

Benson, C. W., Brooke, R. K., Dowsett, R. J. & Irwin, M. P. S. 1971. The Birds of
Zambia. Collins.

Fry, C. H. & Harwin, R. M. 1988. Family Caprimulgidae in The Birds of Africa. Vol. 3.
Academic Press.

Grant, C. H. B. & Mackworth-Praed, C. W. 1954. On Caprimulgus pectoralis,
Caprimulgus fervidus, Caprimulgus fraenatus and Caprimulgus rufigena quanzae. Bull.
Brit. Orn. Cl. 74: 33-34.

Irwin, M. P. S. 1981. The Birds of Zimbabwe. Quest Publishing, Salisbury (Harare).

Jackson, H. D. 1978. Nightjar distribution in Rhodesia (Aves: Caprimulgidae). Arnoldia
8: 1-29.

Kemp, M. I., Kemp, A. C. & Tarboton, W. R. 1985. A Catalogue of the Birds of the
Transvaal. Transvaal Museum-Transvaal Nature Conservation Division, Pretoria.

Louette, M. 1990. The nightjars of Zaire. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 110: 73-75.

McLachlan, G. R. & Liversidge, R. 1970. Roberts Birds of South Africa. 3rd ed. Trustees
John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, Cape Town.

Maclean, G. L. 1985. Roberts’ Birds of Southern Africa. Trustees John Voelcker Bird
Book Fund, Cape Town.

Ridgway, R. 1912. Color Standards and Color Nomenclature. The Author, Washington,
D.C

Reichenow, A. 1900-1901. Die Vogel Afrikas. Vol. 1. J . Neumann, Neudamm.

Rosa Pinto, A. A. da 1983. Ornitolgia de Angola. Vol. 1 (non passeres). Instituto de
Investigacao Cientifica Tropical, Lisbon.

Vuilleumier, F., LeCroy, M. & Mayr, E. 1992. New species of birds described from 1981
to 1990. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 112A: 267-309.

Author’s address: Dr P. A. Clancey, Research Associate, Durban Natural Science
Museum, P.O. Box 4085, Durban 4000, South Africa.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994

Avifaunistic results of a subtropical camp in
the Cordillera del Condor, southeastern
Ecuador

by Niels Krabbe & Francisco Sornoza M.
Received 17 February 1993

Previous ornithological work in the higher parts of the Cordillera del
Condor has been confined to the southern (Peruvian) end, where joint
field parties from Princeton University and Louisiana State University
in the 1970s visited areas between 1900 and 2400 m near San José de
Lourdes, Department of Cajamarca (Fitzpatrick et al. 1977, 1979,
Fitzpatrick & O’Neill 1979, 1986). They never published their

N. Krabbe & F. Sornoza M. 56 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

complete species list, but their list was used by Robbins et al. (1987) for
making comparative lists of differences between the avifaunas of the
Cordillera del Condor and the mountains immediately to the north
(Cordillera de Cutuct) and southwest (Cerro Chinguela). During the
late 1980s the Western Foundation for Vertebrate Zoology made a large
(still unpublished) collection of birds from the upper tropical zone in
various Ecuadorean parts of the Cordillera del Condor. However, the
higher parts of the central and northern end of the range remained
unexplored. We report here the results of an expedition to near the
crest of the middle portion of the mountain chain. The first records
were obtained of three species for Ecuador. A comparison with the
avifauna of the cordillera de Cutuct reveals even greater similarity than
previously suggested.

General description of the region

The Cordillera del Condor is a semi-isolated mountain-range separated
from the main Andean chain to the west by the Rio Zamora valley. The
northern end of the mountains is especially isolated by a pass less than
1500 m in elevation. The range has a large number of peaks and ridges
with steep slopes, and is entirely covered with humid forest. The soil in
the area visited was composed of reddish-brown, orange or in a few
places greyish clay mixed with gravel and sand, and with little or no
stratification. Above San José de Lourdes in Peru the soil is of bleached
quartz sand, and this area also differs from the more northerly parts by
being in close proximity to the arid Maranon valley. Along the western
base of the central Cordillera del Condor, forest clearance is nearly
complete up to an elevation of about 1200 m, while the forest appears to
be almost entirely intact above that elevation.

Sites and methods

From 8 to 24 September 1990 the authors investigated a ridge at
1700 m on the west slope near the top of the Cordillera, which here
only reaches 1900 m. The study site covered c. 2 ha, and was situated
between La Punta and Chinapinza at c. 04°00’'S 78°34'W. The crest of
the knife-like ridge studied seemed to have a cooler microclimate than
the immediately adjacent slopes, with vegetation only two metres high
and covered with Sphagnum and other mosses, thus much resembling
the vegetation on the crest of the Cordillera del Cutuct (see Robbins et
al. 1987). On the steeper slopes of the study area trees grew only
10-20 m high, while on the moderately steep slopes some trees were
30m or even taller. A few small patches of bamboo were present.
According to local people at Paquisha, September is the driest time of
the year, and we experienced but four rainy days during our two weeks
of work, most days being sunny with clear skies. This contrasts with
published results from Zamora (970 m) some 50 km west-southwest
of Paquisha, where rainfall peaks in March, September, and early
January, lows being in February, July and November (Canadas 1983).
Temperatures at the camp at 1700 m ranged from 10—13°C at night to
15-—24°C by day.

N. Krabbe & F. Sornoza M. 57 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

The work included tape-recording of vocalizations, uninterrupted for
10-20 minutes at dawn as well as for shorter periods at various times of
the day, and the collecting of blood-samples and study-skins. Measures
of abundance were obtained by using vocal data as well as captures and
sightings, and they may thus not reflect true density. Song activity was
generally low during the study, so several species undoubtedly went
unencountered. On the other hand the tanagers were not as secretive as
during nesting, so they were probably well-recorded. The specimens
taken were secured with a combined length of 207 m of mist-nets from
dawn to dusk, and fire-arms. Sound-recordings are deposited with
Bioakustisk Laboratorium, Arhus University, Denmark, and British
Library of Wildlife Sounds, London; study-skins in Museo Ecuatori-
ano de Ciencias Naturales, Quito, Academy of Natural Sciences,
Philadelphia, and Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen;
blood-samples for DNA studies in the latter institution.

Survey results

Altogether 114 species were recorded in the study area, 192 specimens
of 85 species were taken as study skins, and 178 blood samples were
extracted. The species recorded are listed in the appendix. Except for
recently described species, taxonomy and nomenclature follow Meyer
de Schauensee (1970). The following deserve special attention.

WHITE-BREASTED PARAKEET Pyrrhura albipectus

What was presumed to be the same flock of five birds was observed
feeding daily near the camp, and a few times two other flocks of five and
twelve birds, respectively, visited the area briefly. All birds seen were in
similar, adult plumage. Five identifications of food-plants were all of
the inflorescences of a slender, woody vine Piptocarpha cf. poeppigiana
(Compositae). This vine climbs young trees, and in some cases the
parrots would climb down as low as 1-2 m above the ground to feed.
Two specimens had stomachs crammed with these flowers. Usually the
flock seemed indifferent to human presence and allowed close
approach. The species was previously known only from tall humid
forest and second growth in Cordillera de Cutuct and the region above
(west of) Zamora (Robbins et al. 1987), and from an unpublished
specimen (WFVZ) taken further south in Cordillera del Condor at
Pachicutza, 1000 m (c. 04°08’S 78°40’W), in August 1989 (M. Marin
verbally 1991). In view of its distribution over a length of 200 km in the
relatively untouched Cordilleras de Cutucu and del Condor it should
probably not be considered immediately threatened as feared by Collar
& Andrew (1988).
Specimen data: adult 2 (ANSP 183065; blood sample NK12-19.9.90) 77.3 g, ovary

granular, tail worn, wings fresh; adult 2 (MECN; NK1-13.9.90) 83 g, ovary medium,
oviduct curled, plumage fresh.

CINNAMON SCREECH-OWL Otus peterson
_ Despite almost nightly owl-hunts this was the only owl recorded at
our camp. It was remarkably common, and no less than four singing

N. Krabbe & F. Sornoza M. 58 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

males were collected from the same few trees during the two weeks.
Three stomachs were full of insects, mainly large beetles. The
previously published four localities are in southeastern Ecuador and on
both sides of the Rio Maranon in northern Peru (Fitzpatrick & O’ Neill
1986). It may be found to range northwards into Colombia, as

suggested by an old “Bogota’’ trade skin (ANSP).

Specimen data: ¢ (ANSP 183100; NK11-20.9.90) 102 g, testes medium-small, plumage
fairly grey; ¢ (MECN; NK17-17.9.90) 99g, testes medium, plumage very red; g
(MECN; NK9-10.9.90) 105 g, testes medium, plumage intermediate.

BUFF-BROWED FOLIAGE-GLEANER Syndactyla rufosuperciliata

Two specimens taken at 1700m represent the first records for
Ecuador. The species was previously known north to the southern end
of Cordillera del Condor (Robbins et al. 1987) and Cerro Chinguela in
northern Peru, where it was found at 2250-2450 m (Parker et al. 1985).
The closely related Lineated Foliage-gleaner Syndactyla subalaris was
captured in the same nets at our camp. Although ranging as high as
2600 m in the northern part of its range, subalaris replaces
rufosuperciliata at lower elevations where the two coexist from
Cordillera del Condor to central Peru (Parker et al. 1985, Fjeldsa &
Krabbe 1990).

Specimen data: 2 (ANSP; NK5-16.9.90) 32.5 g, skull ossified, ovary active; ¢ (MECN;
NK4-14.9.90) 30.3 g, skull 75% ossified, testes enlarged.

CINNAMON-BREASTED TODY-TYRANT Hemitriccus cinnamometpectus
This poorly known and recently described species was previously
known from 1800-2200 m at three localities on both sides of Rio
Maranon in northern Peru (Fitzpatrick & O'Neill 1979). One was
observed singing at 0700 hrs in the two metre tall vegetation on the
mossy ridge at our camp. It sang hidden at midheight and appeared to
defend a territory c. 15m long (the length of this isolated patch of
habitat). The bird, an adult male, responded vigorously to playback of
its song. It was collected, and later a female and two other males were
netted at the same spot. These specimens represent the first record of
the species in Ecuador and double the length of the known range to
some 200 km. The habitat closely resembles that at 2100 m on the crest
of Cordillera de Cutucu, where the Black-throated Tody-tyrant H.
granadensis is fairly common. The two may have very similar ecologies.
Both are found at c. 2200m near Abra Patricia, Departments of
Amazonas and San Martin, Peru (Fitzpatrick & O’Neill 1979, Davis

1986), but granadensis generally occurs at higher elevations.

Specimen data: 2 (MECN; NK4-13.9.90) 7.3 g, skull 30% ossified, ovary granular,
oviduct curled, stomach-content tiny insects (saved); ¢ (MECN; NK1-12.9.90) 9.2 g,
skull 40% ossified, no bursa, testes medium, stomach-content tiny insects; ¢ (ANSP
183436; NK6-12.9.90) 9.2 g, skull ossified, testes medium, stomach-content insects; g
(ANSP 183437; NK10-21.9.90) 8.9 g, skull 70% ossified, no bursa, testes medium,
stomach-content insects.

BAR-WINGED WOOD-WREN Henicorhina leucoptera

This recently described species was only known from northern Peru
on both sides of Rio Maranon (Fitzpatrick et al. 1977, Davis 1986). It
was fairly common at our camp, and was also seen higher up, near

N. Krabbe & F. Sornoza M. 59 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

Chinapinza at 1900m. The length of its known range was thus
extended from 400 to 500km. The Grey-breasted Wood-wren
Henicorhina leucophrys reached its highest elevation at our camp, and
the two species were captured in the same nets at 1700 m. H. leucoptera
has been recorded on a low-lying ridge (1350-1450 m) in San Martin
(Davis 1986), elsewhere occurring at 1700-2450 m (Fitzpatrick et al.
1977, Davis 1986). Although apparently co-occurring with leucophrys at
all its known localities, leucoptera generally seems to replace that
species at higher elevations. Among the 11 specimens of leucoptera
collected were two in true juvenal plumage. The only description of a
young bird (Fitzpatrick et al. 1977) seems to be based on a specimen
partly in its first basic plumage. Our birds differ from that description
by having only a faint supercilium, by being dark on the cheeks, by
having the entire underside dark, feathers of throat, breast and belly
dark grey with dark umber-brown tips that increase in extent
posteriorly, sides of breast, sides, and flanks dark umber-brown, belly
and under tail-coverts dark cinnamon. There is no wing-bar, but the
edges near the tips of the outer webs of the two alula feathers are white,
a character not found in juvenile /eucophrys. The basal two-thirds of the
mandible are yellow.

Specimen data: 2 (MECN; NK5-11.9.90) 14.0 g, skull ossified, ovary granular; 2
(ZMUC; NK16-19.9.90) 14.9 g, skull ossified, no bursa, ovary granular, oviduct straight;
2 (ANSP 183482; NK9-12.9.90) 16.8 g, skull ossified, ovary granular; ¢ (MECN;
NK4-17.9.90) 14.4 g, skull 90% ossified, bursa 1 X 2 mm, testes medium to small; 3
(ZMUC; NK3-13.9.90) 16 g, skull ossified, testes medium to small; ¢ (ANSP 183484;
MKS5-17.9.90) 16g, skull ossified, testes medium; 3 (ANSP 183481; NK3-11.9.90)
14.5 g, skull ossified, testes small; juvenile ¢ (MECN; NK12-11.9.90) 14.8 g, skull

unossified, bursa 1 X 4mm, testes small; juvenile 9 (ANSP 183482) 13.1 g, skull 50%
ossified, bursa 3 X 2 mm, testes small. Skeleton (ZMUC; NK11-17.9.90).

METALLIC-GREEN TANAGER Tangara labradorides chaupensis

Several pairs were seen near our camp at 1700 m. One taken on 17
September represents the first specimen of this race from Ecuador.
There are previous sightings from Morona-Santiago in southeast
Ecuador (Ridgely 1980), otherwise the taxon is known only from both

sides of Rio Maranon in northern Peru.
Specimen data: unsexed (MECN; NK16-17.9.90).

Discussion

Robbins et al. (1987) listed 24 species recorded between 1900 and
2400 m in the Cordillera de Cutuct and not at similar elevations in the
Cordillera del Condor, and believed 10 of these to be genuinely absent.
On the present expedition 11 or 12 of the 24, including 3 thought to be
absent, were found by us near Chinapinza in the Cordillera del Condor.
It seems possible that an investigation of a number of localities in these
mountains would reveal the presence of most or all of the remaining 12.

Although no species is endemic to the Cordillera del Condor, several
upper tropical and subtropical zone forms with restricted ranges are
found here. All but one, Pyrrhura albipectus, also occur south of Rio
Maranon in northern Peru. The Royal Sunangel Heliangelus regalis was
not found in our study area. It is known from Peru at the type-locality

N. Krabbe & F. Sornoza M. 60 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

above San José de Lourdes, Department of Cajamarca, at 1800-2200 m
and from the Department of San Martin at 1450 m, where it has been
found in stunted forest and along forest-edge (Fitzpatrick et al. 1979,
Davis 1986). It undoubtedly occurs on some of the higher ridges in the
Ecuadorean part of Cordillera del Condor. The Orange-throated
‘Tanager Wetmorethraupis sterrhopteron is only known from epiphyte-
laden trees in tall humid forest at 600-1000 m on the lower slopes of
Cordillera del Condor and on the immediately adjacent slope south of
Rio Maranon (Lowery & O'Neill 1964, O’Neill 1969, Isler & Isler
1987). ‘The Cinnamon-breasted ‘Tody-tyrant was considered a part of a
relict species-group by its describers (Fitzpatrick & O'Neill 1979), and
a close relative of the Royal Sunangel is presently being described on
the basis of old Colombian specimens (G. Graves in press). However,
the White-breasted Parakeet seems to have no very close allies, there
being distinctive differences in vocalisations (as well as plumage)
between that and the Maroon-tailed Parakeet Pyrrhura melanura
berlepschi (NK tape-recordings). ‘The Orange-throated Tanager is so
distinct that it was placed in a monotypic genus by its describers.

In view of the many species and subspecies having distributions
ending at the Rio Maranon, it is interesting to note that most of the
endemic birds occur on both sides of the river. This suggests the
presence of unique or rare habitats in the region. Whether any of
the birds actually evolved in situ, remains open to speculation, but as
their very restricted ranges now encompass the Cordillera del Condor,
it is evident that these mountains deserve special consideration from
conservationists.

Acknowledgements

We thank H. R. H. Crown Prince Frederik’s Foundation for a financial grant, and the
Ministerio de Agricultura and Mueso Ecuatoriano de Ciencias Naturales, Quito, for
issuing the necessary permits and for support. J. Fyeldsa, R. S. Ridgely, and M. B.
Robbins kindly commented on the manuscript.

References:

Canadas, C. L. 1983. El Mapa bioclimatico y ecologico del Ecuador. MAG-PRONAREG,
Quito.

Collar, N. J. & Andrew, P. 1988. Birds to Watch. The ICBP world check-list of
threatened birds. International Council for Bird Preservation (Technical Publ. 8),
Cambridge, U.K.

Davis, T. J. 1986. Distribution and natural history of some birds from the Departments
of San Martin and Amazonas, northern Peru. Condor 88: 50-55.

Fitzpatrick, J. W., Terborgh, J. W. & Willard, D. E. 1977. A new species of wood-wren
from Peru. Auk 94: 195-201.

Fitzpatrick, J. W., Willard, D. E. & Terborgh, J. W. 1979. A new species of
hummingbird from Peru. Wilson Bull. 91: 177-186.

Fitzpatrick, J. W. & O’Neill, J. P. 1979. A new tody-tyrant from northern Peru. Auk 96:
443-447.

Fitzpatrick, J. W. & O’Neill, J. P. 1986. Otus petersonit, a new screech-owl from the
eastern Andes, with systematic notes on O. colombianus and O. ingens. Wilson Bull.
98: 1-13.

Fjeldsa, J. & Krabbe, N. 1990. Birds of the High Andes. Zoological Museum,
Copenhagen, and Apollo Books, Svendborg, Denmark.

Isler, M. L. & Isler, P. R. 1987. The Tanagers. Smithsonian Institution, Washington,
D.C.

N. Krabbe & F. Sornoza M. 61 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

Lowery, G. H. & O'Neill, J. P. 1964. A new genus and species of tanager from Peru. Auk
81: 125-131.

Meyer de Schauensee, R. 1970. A Guide to the Birds of South America. Oliver and Boyd,
Edinburgh.

O'Neill, J. P. 1969. Distributional notes on the birds of Peru, including twelve species
previously unreported from the Republic. Occas. Pap. Mus. Zool. Louisiana State
Univ. 37: 1-11.

Parker, T. A., III, Schulenberg, T. S., Graves, G. R. & Braun, M. J. 1985. The avifauna
of the Huancabamba region, northern Peru. Pp. 169-197 in P. A. Buckley, M. S.
Foster, E. S. Morton, R. S. Ridgely and F. C. Buckley (eds), Neotropical
Ornithology. Orn. monogr. 36, Am. Orn. Union.

Addresses: Niels Krabbe, Zoological Museum, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100
Copenhagen, Denmark. Francisco Sornoza M., Academy of Natural Sciences of
Philadelphia, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19103, U.S.A.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1993
APPENDIX

Species recorded at the camp between La Punta and Chinapinza in Cordillera del Condor
at 1650-1700 m. Abundance: C=common, recorded daily in moderate to large numbers
(>10 individuals); FC=fairly common, recorded daily in small numbers (<10
individuals); U=uncommon, recorded on one out of three days, occurs in small numbers;
R=rare, recorded on one of six days or less often, occurs in small numbers. Species
tape-recorded but not collected are marked with a t. Species only sighted are marked with
Fe

Elanoides forficatus FC*, Ictinia plumbea FC*, Buteo magnirostris FC, Micrastur ruficollis
FCt, Chamaepetes goudotit once at 1400 m, Columba subvinacea FCt, Geotrygon frenata
R*, Pyrrhura albipectus FC, Pionus sordidus Ut, Amazona mercenaria FCt, Piaya cayana
FC, Otus petersoni FC, Streptoprocne zonaris U*, Cypseloides rutilus FC*, Chaetura
cinereiventris R, Chaetura brachyura R*, Doryfera ludoviciae FC, Phaethornis guy U,
Phaethornis syrmatophorus U, Eutoxeres aquila U, Adelomyia melanogenys C, Urosticte
benjamini R, Colibri coruscans R, Colibri thalassinus R, Heliodoxa leadbeateri FC,
Coeligena coeligena FC, Boissonneaua matthewst FC, Haplophaedia aureliae U, Ocreatus
underwoodu FC, Aglaiocercus kingi FC, Pharomachrus antisianus Rt, Trogon personatus
FC, Malacoptila fulvogularis U, Eubucco bourcierit R, Aulacorhynchus prasinus Ut, Piculus
rubiginosus Rt, Veniliornis fumigatus FC, Sittasomus griseicapillus Rt, Xiphocolaptes
promeropirhynchus R, Xiphorhynchus triangularis FC, Synallaxis unirufa Ut, Premnoplex
brunnescens FC, Pseudocolaptes biossonneauti FC, Hyloctistes subulatus R, Syndactyla
subalaris FC, Syndactyla rufosuperciliata U, Anabacerthia striaticollis FC, Philydor
erythrocercus R, Thripadectes sp. R*. Xenops rutilans R, Thamnophilus unicolor FC,
Dysithamnus mentalis FC, Myrmotherula schisticolor FC, Drymophila caudata FC,
Formicarius rufipectus FCt, Grallaria haplonota FCt, Grallaria hypoleuca Uh, Scytalopus
femoralis FC, Zimmerius viridiflavus C, Mionectes striaticollis FC, Mionectes olivaceus U,
Phylloscartes sp. cf. superciliaris R*, Pogonotriccus sp. cf. gualaquizae R*, Pseudotriccus
pelzelm FC, Lophotriccus pileatus C, Hemitriccus cinnamomeipectus U, Platyrinchus
mystaceus R, Mytotriccus ornatus FC, Myiophobus flavicans FC, Pyrrhomyias cinnamomea
FC, Contopus borealis R*, Myiarchus cephalotes FC, Myiodynastes chrysocephalus R*,
Tyrannus melancholicus R*, Pipreola riefferii FC, Pipreola lubomirskii FC, Pipreola
frontalis FC, Schiffornis turdinus FCt, Chloropipo unicolor U, Chloropipo holochlora R%*,
Masius chrysopterus FC, Notiochelidon cyanoleuca Ct, Cyanocorax yncas R, Cinnycerthia
peruana FC, Troglodytes solstitialis FC*, Henicorhina leucophrys FC, Henicorhina
leucoptera C, Myadestes ralloides FC, Turdus fulviventris FC, Cyclarhis gujanensis FC,
Myioborus miniatus C, Basileuterus tristriatus FC, Coereba flaveola FC, Chlorochrysa
calliparaea FC, Tangara labradorides FC, Tangara arthus FC, Tangara xanthocephala
FC, Tangara parzudaku FC, Tangara cyanicollis FC, Tangara nigroviridis FC, Iridosornis
analis C, Euphonia xanthogaster C, Anisognathus flavinucha C, Calochaetes coccineus FC,
Piranga leucoptera R*, Creurgops verticalis U, Chlorospingus ophthalmicus FCt,
Chlorospingus canigularis FC, Pitylus grossus FC, Pheucticus chrysopeplus R, Diglossa
glauca C, Carduelis olivacea R*, Oryzoborus angolensis R, Atlapetes brunneinucha FC.

In Brief 62 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)
IN BRIEF
NOTES ON THE BUFF-FRONTED OWL AEGOLIUS HARRISIT IN BRAZIL

The Buff-fronted Owl Aegolius harris (Cassin, 1849) is one of the
rarest Brazilian night-birds, being spottily recorded from Ceara,
Pernambuco and Bahia south to Goias, Sao Paulo, Santa Catarina and
Rio Grande do Sul (Sick 1985). Only 200-212 mm in total length and
weighing 104-135 g (adult males), this small owl occurs from the
coastal lowlands (50 m) to the high mesetas (1000 m) of the hinterland,
inhabiting the caatingas and the semideciduous forests of the northeast,
the cerrado and cerraddo of central Brazil (Negret et al. 1984), some
man-made landscapes, and even urban areas as in Curitiba, Parana.
Virtually nothing is known about the biology of the Buff-fronted Owl
(Burton 1973, Clark et al. 1978, Hume 1991, Storer 1989), which is also
scarcely represented in ornithological collections.

We have found that this owl is an uncommon resident in the
man-made landscapes rich in palms and fruit trees in the lowlands
(50 m) of Vargem da Meira, near Camagcari, coastal Bahia (c. 10°30’S,
35°40'W), where we discovered an adult incubating in the hollow trunk
of an unidentified dead palm on 2 March 1985. The cavity may have
been an abandoned nest hole of a parrot such as the Peach-fronted
Parakeet Aratinga aurea or the Sun Parakeet A. solstitialis, which are
very common in the region; and measured 60 cm deep and 15 cm in
diameter, with access through a small hole 10cm in diameter, 6m
above the ground. The base of the cavity was covered with dry cattle
dung, a green feather of a parakeet, unidentified hairs, and the remains
of some prey, such as the chitin of insects and bones of a small rodent.
The clutch consisted of 3 ovoid white eggs, which measured
33.0. x 27.6,.33.0.x 28.0 ~and:,, 33.4:x 27:0'mm._ , (average) 55 3eleiex
27.53 mm), and weighed 12.5, 12.5 and 11.8 ¢ respectively (average
12 27g)"

So far as we know, the vocalizations of this species include a
quavering sequence of monotonous ku-ku-ku... notes, slightly
crescendo, 4-20 seconds long, and a single, hooting oouuu (see also Sick
1985, Hume 1991).

In March 1990, we also found A. harrisii at Inhuporanga (300 m),
Ceara (c. 4°06'S, 39°03'W), where it occurred in - pasturelands
interspersed among the very dry and sometimes secondary caatinga,
probably nesting in holes of carnauba palms (Copernicia cerifera).

We would like to thank Conservation International, and the Brazilian Conselho Nacional

de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnolégico (CNPq), which partially supported our
studies on northeastern Brazilian birds.

References:

Burton, J. A. 1973. Owls of the World. E. P. Dutton & Co., New York.

Clark, R. J., Smith, D. G. & Kelso, L. H. 1978. Working Bibliography of Owls of the
World. National Wildlife Federation, Washington, D.C.

Hume, R. 1991. Owls of the World. Dragon’s World, Limpsfield.

Negret, A., Taylor, J., Soares, R. C., Cavalcanti, R. B. & Johnson, C. 1984. Aves da
regiao geopolitica do Distrito Federal. Ministério do Interior, Secretaria Especial do
Meio Ambiente (SEMA), Brasilia.

In Brief 63 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

Sick, H. 1985. Ornitologia Brasileira, uma introdugao. Editora Universidade de Brasilia.
Storer, R. W. 1989. Notes on Paraguayan birds. Occ. Papers Mus. Zool. Univ. Michigan
719: 1-21.

Associagao Nordeste, ANITA STUDER
19 rue Chantepoulet,

1201 Genéve,

Switzerland.

Secado de Ornitologia, Museu Nacional, DANTE MARTINS TEIXEIRA
Quinta da Boa Vista,

Rio de Janeiro (RJ),

Brazil CEP 20940-040 26 November 1992

FIRST RECORD OF CHIRPING CISTICOLA CISTICOLA PIPIENS FROM
BURUNDI

On 29 September 1992 we found three pairs of Chirping Cisticolas
Cisticola pipiens in a marshy area about 200 m south of the golf course
in Bujumbura, Burundi. This species, only recently added to the East
African list (Moyer & Sikombe 1992, Scopus 16: 55-56), was recognized
by its distinctive song (Fig. 1). The birds were in a mosaic of reeds,
cat-tails, rank grass, and maize and sweet-potato cultivation. They were
relatively tame, singing from exposed positions on reeds and grass, and
allowing approach to within 15m. Excellent views were obtained
through 10 X binoculars. Further visits were made to this site on 1 and
3 October; the song was recorded, and one individual was mist-netted
and photographed. Two other cisticola species heard at this site were
Red-faced Cisticola C. erythrops and Winding Cisticola C. galactotes.
The Chirping Cisticolas had buffy brown backs broadly streaked with

trip trip | treererrrrreerrreeeeerereree

-00 1.0 2.0
seconds

Figure 1. Sonagram of the song of Chirping Cisticola Cisticola pipiens recorded in
Bujumbura, Burundi.

In Brief 64 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(1)

black, thereby distinguishing them from the plain-backed Red-faced
Cisticolas and from Winding Cisticola, which has a greyish back with
black streaks. Other characters noted which distinguish Chirping
Cisticola from Winding Cisticola in the field were the darker lores,
larger size, and longer and ‘floppier’ tail of Chirping Cisticola. The
netted individual had a wing of 71 mm (almost certainly a male). All
three species are most easily identified in the field by their songs.
Chirping Cisticolas were observed at two nearby sites within
Bujumbura. DCM noted a pair of Chirping Cisticolas singing in rank
grass on the shore of Lake ‘Tanganyika at the Bujumbura yacht club on
3 October. TSS and Nedra Klein found several pairs in reeds and tall
grass at a marshy area on the northern edge of the golf course in
Bujumbura on 1 and 3 October. We also found Chirping Cisticolas in
the Rusizi River Delta National Park west of Bujumbura. It was
common in the extensive reed beds fringing the shore of Lake
‘Tanganyika during visits by DCM on 2 October and by TSS on 3 and
6 October. TSS obtained additional tape-recordings of this species,
which will be deposited at the Library of Natural Sounds, Cornell
University Laboratory of Ornithology. Red-faced and Winding
Cisticolas were also seen at Rusizi, and a small cloud-scraper, probably
Wing-snapping Cisticola C. ayresit or Pectoral-patch Cisticola C.
brunnescens, was seen on the short-grass plain fringing the reed beds.
‘These are the first records of Chirping Cisticola from Burundi and
represent a northward range extension of about 800 km from the Ufipa
Plateau in Tanzania (Moyer & Sikombe 1992, loc. cit.) and about
550 km from the nearest record in the Marungu Highlands on the Zaire
side of the lake (Chapin 1953, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 75A; Dowsett
& Prigogine 1974, Cercle Hydrobiologique de Bruxelles 19: 1-67).
Considering that this species has been overlooked by birders within the
city limits of Bujumbura and in the well known Rusizi Delta National
Park, it probably occurs in appropriate habitat all around the shores of
Lake Tanganyika and adjacent highland areas in Zaire and Tanzania.

We thank Bob and Laura Payne for making the recording of Chirping Cisticola from
which the sonagram was produced. Liz and Neil Baker provided transport to the Rusizi
Delta National Park and photographed the captured bird, and Jacob Kiure assisted with
mist-netting. G. Maclean confirmed our identification of this species based on the song,
and J. V. Remsen commented on the manuscript. These observations were made while
we were attending the Eighth Pan-African Ornithological Congress; Schulenberg is
grateful to the Ridgeway Bird and Wildlife Endowment, Department of Ecology and
Evolution, University of Chicago, and the Field Museum of Natural History, for
providing funding.

Museum of Natural Science, DAVID C. MOYER
119 Foster Hall,

Louisiana State University,

Baton Rouge, LA 70803-3216,

U.S.A.

Field Museum of Natural History, THOMAS S. SCHULENBERG
Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive,

Chicago, IL 60605-2496,

WESAAe 18 January 1993

NOTICE TO CONTRIBUTORS

Papers, from Club Members or non-members, should be sent to the Editor, Dr
D. W. Snow, The Old Forge, Wingrave, Aylesbury, Bucks HP22 4PD, U.K., and
must be offered solely to the Bulletin. They should be typed on one side of the
paper, with treble-spacing and a wide margin, and submitted in duplicate. The
style and lay-out should conform with usage in this or recent issues of the Bulletin.

A contributor is entitled to 10 free offprints of the pages of the Bulletin in which his
contribution, if one page or more in length, appears. Additional offprints or offprints of
contributions of less than one page may be ordered when the manuscript is submitted and
will be charged for. Authors may be charged for proof corrections for which they are
responsible.

BACK NUMBERS OF THE BULLETIN

Available on application to the Hon. Treasurer, as below (Vol. 93 onwards, 4
issues per year; Vols. 89—92, 6 issues per year; Vols. 88 and earlier, generally 9
issues per year): 1993 and after (Vols. 113 onwards) £4.50 each issue; 1983-92
(Vols. 103-112) £4 each issue; 1981—2 (Vols. 101 & 102) £3.50 each issue; 1980
(Vol. 100) No. 1 £4.50, Nos. 2,3 & 4 £2.50 each issue; 1973-9 (Vols. 93-99) £2.50
each issue; 1969-72 (Vols. 89-92) £2 each issue; 1929-68 (Vols. 50-88) £1.20 each
issue; Vol. 49 and before £2.50 each issue.

Indices: Vol. 112 and after £2.00; Vols. 70-111 £1.50 each; Vols. 50-69 £2.50
each; Vol. 49 and before £6 each.

Long runs (10 years or more) for Vol. 50 and after are available at reduced rates
on enquiry. Postage and packing extra. Orders over £50 post free. Special issue
Vol. 112A, 1992, in hardback, 300p, £32, inc. p&p.

MEMBERSHIP
Only Members of the British Ornithologists’ Union are eligible to join the
Club; applications should be sent to the Hon. Treasurer, as below, together with
the annual subscription (£8.50 or, if preferred, U.S. $22 for 1994, postage and
index free). Changes of address and any correspondence concerning membership
should be addressed to the Hon. Treasurer.

SUBSCRIPTION TO THE BULLETIN
The Bulletin (Vol. 114 onwards) may be purchased by non-members on pay-
ment of the annual subscription (£20 or, if preferred, U.S. $40 for 1994, postage
and index free). Applications should be sent to the Hon. Treasurer. Single issues
may be obtained as back numbers.

PAYMENTS TO HON. TREASURER

Payments should be sent to the Hon. Treasurer, S. J. Farnsworth, Hammerkop,
Frogmill, Hurley, Maidenhead, Berks SL65NL, U.K., or credited direct to the
Club’s bank account—No. 10211540, Sort Code 200087, at Barclays Prime
Account, Dale House, Wavertree Boulevard, Liverpool L7 9PQ, U.K., with
confirmation to the Hon. Treasurer. All payments are net and should be in
Sterling if possible. Payment in other currencies must include a further £4 for
U.K. Bank Charges (except for annual rates in U.S. Dollars which are inclusive).

CORRESPONDENCE
Correspondence about Club Meetings and on all other matters should go to
the Hon. Secretary, Mrs A. M. Moore, 1 Uppingham Road, Oakham, Rutland
LE15 6JB, U.K.

CONTENTS

CLUB NOTICES Report of the Committee, Annual General Meeting,
Meetings) race... 22 iia ste Rieke gle esis sls eee aeee cee re
GIBBS, D. Undescribed taxa and new records from the Fakfak
Mountains; Trian Jayas'.: 02.0. as bee ee ee ee

GREGORY, P. Notes on new and scarce birds in the Falkland Islands
TO8SH1990! 23 eis i eae ke ia Be eae oo

TEIXEIRA, D. M., NACINOVIC, J. B. & MARTI, F.M. Notes on the Black-
throated Antwren Myrmeciza atrothorax and Spot-breasted
Antwren JM. stictothorax im Brazil..2 5555.22 6 oe eee

HERREMANS, M. Mayor concentration of River Warblers Locustella
fluviatilis wintering in northern Botswana................-.

HERREMANS, M., HUNTER, N. D. & ALLAN, D. ‘The display of the Short-
clawed Lark Certhilauda chuana and comments on the genus
Certhilauda ac} ioc he eae ee ee

GARGALLO, G. On the taxonomy of the western Mediterranean
islands populations of Subalpine Warbler Sylvia cantillans....

BARAJAS, F.C. & PHILLIPS, A.R. A Haplospizafinchin western Mexico;
the lessons'of.an enigma!) 5.00. 2) se nc eee ee ee

STRAUBE,F.C. Onthe validity of Anumbius annumbi machrisi Stager,
£959 (FPurnartidae, Aves). 24.2.0. 62a os at ee eee

CLANCEY, P. A. ‘The austral races of the Afrotropical Fiery-necked
Nightjar Caprimulgus pectoralis Cuvier, 1816 ...............
KRABBE, N. & SORNOZA M., F. Avifaunistic results of a subtropical
camp in the Cordillera del Condor, southeastern Ecuador.....

In Brief STUDER, A. & TEIXEIRA, D. M. Notes on the Buff-fronted
Owl Aesolusharnisiin Brazil 2). eee

MOYER, D. C. & SCHULENBERG, T. S. First record of the

Chirping Cisticola Cisticola pipiens from Burundi ..

Page

12

20

24

24

The Bulletin is despatched from the printers on publication and is sent by Surface Saver Postal
Services to all European destinations outside the U.K. and by Air Saver Postal Services to
destinations outside Europe. Those whose subscriptions have not been received by the begin-
ning of a month of publication will have their copies despatched by surface mail, after their

current subscription has been paid.

COMMITTEE
D. Griffin (Chairman) (1993) Revd T. W. Gladwin ( Vice-Chairman) (1993)
Dr D. W. Snow (Editor) (1991) S. J. Farnsworth ( Treasurer ) (1990)
Mrs A. M. Moore (Hon. Secretary) (1989) Cdr M. B. Casement, OBE, RN (1990)
Dr J. F. Monk (1991) Dr R. A. Cheke (1991)

R.E. F. Peal (1993)

Printed on acid-free paper.

Published by the BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB and printed by
Henry Ling Ltd., at the Dorset Press, Dorchester, Dorset

263 ISSN 0007-1595
Bulletin of the

British Ornithologists’ Club

Edited by
Dr D. W. SNOW

Volume114 No.2 June 1994

FORTHCOMING MEETINGS

Tuesday, 19 July 1994. Mr Richard ffrench, who has a wide
knowledge of the Caribbean and is the author of The Birds of Trinidad
and Tobago, will speak on “Sounds of Birds in the Neotropics’’.

Members wishing to attend are asked to notify the Hon. Secretary by
Tuesday, 5 Fuly 1994*.

Tuesday, 9 August 1994. An additional meeting to take advantage
of the visit to Britain by Professor Jacques Vielliard, of the
Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Sao Paulo. Professor Vielliard’s
talk is entitled ‘Hummingbirds also Sing’.

Members wishing to attend are asked to notify the Hon. Secretary by
Tuesday, 26 July 1994*.

Tuesday, 20 September 1994. We are delighted to welcome back
Dr Storrs Olson who will speak on ‘‘Seabirds of the North Atlantic
through 20 Million Years’’.

Members wishing to attend are asked to notify the Hon. Secretary by
Tuesday, 6 September 1994*.

Tuesday, 4 October 1994. Mr Tom Gullick will introduce Mr
Rafael Heredia, who will speak on ‘“‘Lammergeier in the
Pyrenees—Past, Present and Future’. Since 1970 Rafael Heredia
has been monitoring Lammergeier in the Pyrenees. This work began as
a personal venture, subsequently backed by WWF, the Belgium
Institute for the Protection of Raptors, and now funded by the Spanish
Government Conservation Agency.

Members wishing to attend are asked to notify the Hon. Secretary by
Tuesday, 20 September 1994*.

Tuesday, 9 November 1994.—Please note change of date of
this meeting—The Reverend Tom Gladwin will speak on the
Appalachian Mountains. (The talk previously advertised by Mr
Turner has been postponed until next year.)

Tuesday, 6 December 1994. Mr Michael Walters, of the Natural
History Museum, will speak on the “‘History of Ornithology”’.

Meetings are held in the Sherfield Building of Imperial College,
South Kensington, London at 6.15 p.m. for 7 p.m. A map showing
Imperial College will be sent to members on request.

Overseas Members visiting Britain are particularly welcome at
meetings, details of which can be obtained from the Hon. Secretary,
1 Uppingham Road, Oakham, Rutland LE15 6JB. Telephone (0572)
722788.

*Late acceptances and cancellations can usually be taken up to the
weekend preceding a meeting, although members are asked to accept by
14 days beforehand as arrangements for meetings have to be confirmed
with Imperial College well in advance.

65 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

Bulletin of the
BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB

Vol. 114 No. 2 Published 27 June 1994

The eight hundred and thirty-fifth meeting of the Club was held on Tuesday,
7 December 1993 in the Ante-room of the Sherfield Building, Imperial College, South
Kensington at 6.15 p.m. 29 Members and 12 Guests attended.

Members attending were: D. GRIFFIN (Chairman), J. H. FANSHAWE (Speaker), D. R.
CaLper, Cdr. M. B. CasEMENT RN Retd, Professor R. J. CHANDLER, Dr R. A. CHEKE,
S. J. Farnswortu, G. D. Fietp, Revd T. W. Giapwin, A. Gisss, C. A. R. HEvM, K.
HENSHALL, S. Howe, D. J. Montier, Mrs A. M. Moore, R. G. Morcan, Mrs M.
Mutter, P. J. OLiver, R. E. F. Peat, Dr C. Ryatyi, R. E. Scotr, Dr R. SELF, P. J.
SELLAR, R. E. SHARLAND, N. H. F. Stone, Dr D. H. THomas, Professor W. E. WarTERs,
C. E. WHEELER, M. W. Woopcock.

Guests attending were: L. BENNUN, Mrs G. BonHam, J. N. B. Brown, Mrs F. M.
FARNSWORTH, Miss E. GrirFin, Mrs S. Grirrin, Mrs. J. GLapwin, Miss K. Horr, Mrs
M. Montier, P. J. Moore, Mrs J. Waters, Mrs B. Woopcock.

Mr J. Fanshawe spoke after supper on “Conservation and Research in
Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, Kenya.”

Arabuko-Sokoke Forest lies just south-east of Malindi, a town 110km north of
Kenya’s coastal capital, Mombasa. The forest covers about 370 km? and is the largest
stand of near-continuous natural forest cover on the coast. Forming part of the
Zanzibar-Inhambane zone, it is widely believed to have survived dry phases of the
Pleistocene, a factor which must have contributed to the emergence of unique, restricted
taxa, including the six Red Data birds which occur there: Sokoke Scops Owl Otus ireneae,
Clarke’s Weaver Ploceus golandi, Sokoke Pipit Anthus sokokensis, Aman Sunbird
Anthreptes pallidigaster, East Coast Akalat Sheppardia gunningi, and Spotted
Ground-thrush Turdus fischeri. It is not important only for birds, however; it provides
building poles and fuelwood, medicinal plants, and a wide range of other produce, like
honey, to the communities nearby.

Since 1989, BirdLife International (formerly ICBP) has run a research and
conservation project in Arabuko-Sokoke funded by the EC. Undertaking management
support, training and tourism development, the teams researched human use of Sokoke
and its impact on animal populations, principally the effect of logging on birds, and of
hunting on mammals.

Sokoke contains three vegetation zones, reflecting soil type and rainfall patterns. Each
is dominated by a particular tree species, Afzelia quanzensis, Brachystegia spiciformis or
Cynometra webberi, and it has been the use of such hardwoods that has altered forest
structure. Only 28% is in primary condition. Using point counts, mist-netting, and
observations of colour-ringed birds, data were collected on a full range of forest, edge and
open country species; a total of 233 species have been recorded. It is clear that habitat
type and condition strongly influence community structure. Specialists like Little Yellow
Flycatcher Erythrocercus holochlorus decline in degraded areas, while generalists like
Zanzibar Greenbul Andropadus importunus invade. A closer look at habitat choice reveals
detailed preferences dictating whether or not birds will cope with secondary forest. Tiny
Greenbuls Phyllastrephus debilis and Forest Batises Batis mixta need dense middle
canopy cover, while ground-foraging Sokoke Pipits look for good litter cover, and Amani
Sunbirds for near-closed high canopy. Teasing out structural likes and dislikes for a full
range of forest-dependent birds is critical for conservation, allowing habitats to be
managed much more appropriately.

At the heart of the future success of conservation in Sokoke lies the capacity to strike
a balance between human activity and conservation in the forest, to achieve long term
sustainable use. To that end the income brought by the increasing number of welcome
tourists (which has included several BOC members) is making a steady contribution to
development in the area. David Ngala, who acted as field assistant throughout the bird
research, has remained in Sokoke as the main bird guide. He specialises in finding the
elusive Sokoke Scops Owl for people. Another example of changing attitudes has been
the realisation, following Dr Clare FitzGibbon’s research on one of the threatened
mammals, the Golden-rumped Elephant-shrew Rhynchocyon chrysopygus, that hunting

E. R. Potapov 66 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

and trapping can continue sustainably if measures are taken to avoid the killing of
declining species. Some mammals, like the closely related Four-toed Elephant-shrew
Petrodomus tetradactylus, are abundant despite fairly high trapping pressure. Instituting a
management policy which includes constructive discussion with hunters, backed up with
selective removal of traps set for endangered species like Ader’s Duiker Cephalophus
adersi, can ensure that a sustainable balance is achieved and maintained.

The eight hundred and thirty-sixth meeting of the Club was held on Tuesday, 18 January
1994 in the Senior Common Room of the Sherfield Building, Imperial College, South
Kensington at 6.15 p.m. 24 Members and 11 Guests attended.

Members attending were: D. GRIFFIN (Chairman), J. A. BURTON (Speaker), Miss H.
Baker, P. J. Betman, P. J. BULL, Professor R. J. CHaNpDLER, Dr R. A. CHEKgE, S. J.
FARNSWORTH, A. GIBBs, Revd T. W. GLapwin, Dr A. G. Gos er, C. A. R. Heto, R. H.
KetTtTLe, N. S. Matcoim, Dr J. F. Monr, D. J. Montier, Mrs A. M. Moors, R. G.
Morcan, Mrs. M. Mutter, P. J. O_tver, R. E. F. Peat, Dr R. C. SELF, P. J. SELLAR,
N. H. F. STONE.

Guests attending were: Mrs F. FARNSwortH, Mrs B. Gisss, Mrs J. GLADWIN, Miss
K. Horr, Mrs D. Monk, Mrs M. Montirr, P. J. Moors, B. O’Brien, Mrs S. STONE, C.
WALKER, Miss K. J. WILSON.

After supper Mr P. J. Bull presented a short communication on the recovery of a
Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris from Kiev, in Ukraine.

Mr J. A. Burton was the principal speaker of the evening. He showed a programme of
extracts from films of particular ornithological interest which he has compiled from the
National Film Archive. It includes extracts from Oliver Pike’s film, made in 1903, of
landing on St Kilda, films made in Central Hungary and in East Africa before 1940, and
Roger Tory Peterson’s film of Wild Europe. It was possible to see from the extracts,
which were of remarkable quality, the development of modern wildlife filming
techniques.

Birds of the lower Kolyma River, northeast

Siberia

by Eugene R. Potapov
Received 2 March 1993

This paper is based on observations made in four study areas on the
lower Kolyma River in 1982-92: in the Chukochya river basin in
1982-83; in the Kolyma river delta (Nerpichye Lake and Pokhodskaya
Yedoma study areas) in 1985; and in the Konkovaya river basin in
1986-92 (Fig. 1). Occasional visits were also made to the right bank of
the Kolyma river. All study areas except the Nerpichye Lake area are
located in the Kolyma lowlands in the typical tundra subzone. This
zone is characterised by the absence of tall bushes on the watersheds.
The territory is underlain by permafrost and, generally, the study areas
resemble gently rolling plains with characteristic hillocks called
yedomas separated by river valleys and perforated by numerous lake
depressions indicating that the permafrost plays an important role in
the formation of the topography, or at least the micro-relief.

The study areas in the Chukochya and Konkovaya rivers are very
similar. The greater part of the territory consists of yedomas with |}
numerous lake hollows. River valleys are relatively dry, but contain |
some polygonal bogs.

E.R. Potapov 67 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

re 160°
East Siberian Sea

505 12510 50 Sara aerT ae,

Figure 1. The four study areas in the lower Kolyma River area: 1, Chukochya River
(1982-83); 2, Konkovaya River (1986-92); 3, Nerpichye Lake (1985); 4, Pokhodskaya
Yedoma (1985).

The Nerpichye Lake study area is part of the Kolyma river
flood-plain. Polygonal bogs dominate the landscape. There are no
yedomas in the area; the most visible landmarks are pingos (small
hillocks pushed up by freezing water below the soil), which are
scattered in the tundra. The vegetation is dominated by bushes and
moss. This study area is located in the bushy tundra subzone.

The Pokhodskaya Yedoma is a rocky cliff surrounded with bush-less
tundra flood plain. The dry vegetation on the rock contrasts with the
wet habitats in the plain.

Background

Studies of the fauna of the Kolyma River began in the 19th century
when the area was visited by Matyushkin and Vrangel (Vrangel 1841)
and later by Baron G. Maidel (1894) who made a zoological collection.
In 1892 the Kolyma River was visited by I. Chersky (Revsin 1952),
who also collected birds and mammals. The collection (kept at the
Zoological Institute, St Petersburg) covered the taiga of the Kolyma
River but includes few tundra specimens because of the untimely death
of I. Chersky which brought the expedition to an end. In 1905 the

E. R. Potapov 68 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

Kolyma lowlands were visited by S. A. Buturlin (Buturlin 1905,
1906a—b). While travelling around the Kolyma delta he visited the
Nerpichye Lake and Pokhodskaya Yedoma where my study areas are
located. He also collected birds and animals.

Later the region was visited by N. N. Gribanovsky (Gribanovsky
1915). In 1911-1912 the Kolyma lowlands were visited by Johan Koren
on his own schooner. He made a significant collection of birds and
mammals. The bird collection was studied by the sponsor of the
expedition, J. E. Thayer (Thayer & Bangs 1914). The area of the
Kolyma lowlands made such a deep impression on Koren that he
returned and settled there in 1914-1918. In his journey to the lower
Kolyma in 1914 he was accompanied by Mr. Copley Amory, Jr., who
also made a bird collection which was eventually studied by J. Riley
(1918). During his period of residence in 1914-18 in Nizhne-Kolymsk
(near the recent Kolymskoye settlement) Koren made a substantial bird
and mammal collection. The bird collection was rescued in winter
1917/18 by the crew of the vessel “‘Maud”’ led by R. Amundsen, and
later investigated by Schaaning (Schaaning 1954). The Roald
Amundsen expedition was trapped by ice near the Kolyma estuary
several times in 1918—24. They also observed wildlife and left a small
bird collection later studied by Schaaning and Sverdrup (Schaaning &
Sverdrup 1928).

In the 1930s some data on the local birds were collected by A. I.
Ivanov (Tugarinov et al. 1934). In 1957 K. Vorob’ov visited the
Pokhodsk, Nerpichye Lake and Konkovaya and Chukochya rivers. His
data are summarised in his book Birds of Yakutia (Vorob’ov 1963).
Spangenberg spent the spring of 1959 in the Kolyma delta not far from
the Pokhodskaya study area, and published a list of the birds recorded
(Spangenberg 1960).

Since 1978 the research team led by Dr A. V. Andreev from the
Magadan Institute of Biological Problems of the North has carried out
research on bird ecology in this region. Kondrat’ev (1979), Andreev &
Dorogoy (1987), Gavrilov & Potapov (1991), Chernov & Khlebosolov |
(1989) and Khlebosolov (1986) published various papers containing |
faunal records. I joined the team in 1982. Some of my reports were |
included in the book on the avifauna of northeast Siberia (Kretchmar |
et al. 1991), which summarises all observations to that date. In 1990 |
M. Densley visited the Konkovaya study area, where he studied a |
colony of Ross’s Gulls (Densley 1991).

SYSTEMATIC LIST

Of the 91 species recorded in the region, only Willow Grouse, Snowy
Owl and Gyrfalcon live on the tundra all year round. All the others are
migratory. They arrive on the tundra at the end of May and leave in |
August-September. In July-August there is a migration of geese and
waders to the north. These birds spend several weeks on the mud-flats |
of the Arctic Ocean, before starting their journey to the south.

The following species are common breeders in all four study areas: |
Red-throated Diver Gavia stellata, Black-throated Diver G. arctica, |

E.R. Potapov 69 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

Bewick’s Swan Cygnus bewickii (also flocks of non-breeding birds in
Pokhodskaya study area), Teal Anas crecca, Pintail A. acuta (moulting
flocks of Teal and Pintail in Konkovaya study area), King Eider
Somateria spectabilis, Scaup Aythya marila, Long-tailed Duck Clangula
hyemalis, Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serrator, Rough-legged
Buzzard Buteo lagopus (except Nerpichye Lake area), Willow Grouse
Lagopus lagopus, Sandhill Crane Grus canadensis, Grey Plover
Squatarola squatarola, Lesser Golden Plover Pluvialis dominica,
Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus, Grey Phalarope Phalaropus
fulicarius, Red-necked Phalarope P. lobatus, Ruff Philomachus pugnax,
Temminck’s Stint Calidris temminckiu, Pectoral Sandpiper C. melano-
tos, Snipe Gallinago gallinago, Long-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus
scolopaceus, Arctic Skua Stercorarius parasiticus, Long-tailed Skua S.
longicaudus, Herring Gull Larus argentatus, Glaucous Gull L.
hyperboreus, Ross’s Gull Rhodostethia rosea, Arctic Tern Sterna
paradisaea, Red-throated Pipit Anthus cervinus, Yellow Wagtail
Motacilla flava, White Wagtail M. alba, Willow Warbler Phylloscopus
trochilus, Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe (except Nerpichye Lake area),
Bluethroat Luscinia svecica, Common Redpoll Carduelis flammea, Little
Bunting Emberiza pusilla, Lapland Bunting Calcarius lapponicus.

White-billed Diver Gavia adamsii. Breeds on big ‘alas’-type lakes
(thaw-lakes).

Pacific Diver G. pacifica. Common in Nerpichye Lake study area,
not very common in the Konkovaya and Chukochya study areas.

Red-necked Grebe Podiceps grisegena. Seen every year in all study
areas except the Chukochya study area. Rare breeder in the Nerpichye
Lake study area.

Whooper Swan C. cygnus. Recorded breeding only in Konkovaya
study area. Occasional visits of non-breeding birds to all study areas.
Moulting birds seen in the Nerpichye Lake study area.

Brent Goose Branta bernicla. Recorded on migration in all study
areas. Nesting colonies are found along the Arctic Ocean coastline.

White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons. Breeds in all study areas, but is
not very common. Vorob’ov (1963) reported the species more abundant
in the region than the Bean Goose. Now the situation is reversed. This is
the result of a dramatic decline in the numbers of White-fronted Goose.

Lesser White-fronted Goose A. erythropus. Recorded on migration
in all study areas. No breeding records. Relatively rare.

Bean Goose A. fabalis. Relatively common breeder. Nests are found
on clay precipices along rivers, and in polygon habitat in river valleys.

Snow Goose Chen caerulescens. Some flocks were seen in Chukochya
and Konkovaya valleys on spring migration. Nearest breeding record in
Chukochya mouth (Andreev & Dorogoy 1987), also seen in the Kolyma
river delta by Spangenberg (1960).

Baikal Teal Anas formosa. Breeding recorded in the Konkovaya study
area. Seen in Nerpichye Lake and Chukochya study areas.

Wigeon A. penelope. Recorded on summer migration in all study
areas. Moulting birds seen in the Konkovaya study area. No breeding
records.

E. R. Potapov 70 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

Shoveler A. clypeata. Summer records in the Kolyma and
Konkovaya study area. Recorded breeding in 1970 in the Upper
Konkovaya river by Andreev (Kretchmar et al. 1991).

Spectacled Eider Somateria fischeri. Breeding records from
Chukochya and Konkovaya study areas. Seen on migration in all study
areas.

Steller’s Eider Polysticta stelleri. Seen on migration in all study areas,
no breeding records within the study areas. One nest was found by
Andreev (Kretchmar et al. 1991) in 1978 in flat dried tundra east from
the Konkovaya River.

American White-winged Scoter Melanitta deglandi. Summer visitor
to the Nerpichye Lake study area. No breeding records.

Osprey Pandion haliaetus. One breeding record in the Kolyma delta.
The nest was located 20 km north from the Pokhodsk settlement. It was
on a bush about 1.5 m high and contained 2 chicks (S. Mochalov pers.
comm.)

White-tailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla. Young birds and adults seen
in Nerpichye Lake and Konkovaya study areas. Nearest non-active
nests built on the heaps of washed-out trees were found on the Arctic
Ocean coastline.

Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus. Breeding recorded only in the
Konkovaya study area.

Goshawk Accipiter gentilis. Seen in all study areas, no breeding
records. Nearest breeding sites are in woodlands on the east bank on
the Kolyma river. ‘The white phase is frequent.

Gyrfalcon Falco rusticolus. Seen in all study areas. No breeding
records. Nearest nests are located along the tree-line. Breeding records
in the Pokhodskaya Yedoma study area and also on the east bank of the
Kolyma river.

Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus. Breeds in all study areas except
Nerpichye Lake area. Rare.

Kestrel F. tinnunculus. Seen in all study areas. No breeding
records.

Merlin F’. columbarius. Seen in all areas. No breeding records.

Ptarmigan L. mutus. Breeding records in the mountains east of the
Kolyma river. Occasional winter visits to the west bank of the Kolyma
river.

Siberian White Crane Grus leucogeranus. Rare. Seen in all study
areas. Breeding in the Konkovaya study area.

Turnstone Arenaria interpres. Seen in all study areas on migration.
No breeding records.

Dotterel Charadrius morinellus. Seen in all study areas. No breeding
records.

Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula. Found nesting only in tundra
adjoining the sea-coast (Kretchmar et al. 1991). Migrating birds may be
seen in the Konkovaya study area in July-August.

Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola. Occasional visits to the Konkovaya
study area.

Terek Sandpiper Xenus cinereus. Seen in the Konkovaya study area.
No breeding records.

E.R. Potapov 71 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

Little Stint Calidris minutus. Found by I. Dorogoy in 1983-1984 in
the Lower Chukochya River (Kretchmar et al. 1991).

Red-necked Stint C. ruficollis. Found nesting in 1982 in the
Chukochya study area. No breeding records since that time.

Curlew Sandpiper C. ferruginea. Rare breeder in Konkovaya and
Chukochya study areas.

Dunlin C. alpina. Seen in all study areas. No breeding records.

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper C. acuminata. Breeds in Konkovaya and
Chukochya and Nerpichye Lake study areas, on wet polygons in lake
hollows or river valley.

Sanderling C. alba. Seen in the Konkovaya study area in 1979 by
Andreev (Kretchmar et al. 1991). Never seen since this time.

Pintail Snipe Gallinago stenura. Common breeder in Konkovaya and
Nerpichye Lake study areas.

Jack Snipe Lymnocryptes minimus. Seen in all study areas. No
breeding records.

Broad-billed Sandpiper Limicola falcinellus. Rare breeding records in
Konkovaya study area.

Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica. Breeds in Konkovaya and
Chukochya study areas.

Pomarine Skua Stercorarius pomarinus. Breeding records only in
Konkovaya study area in 1987. Seen in all study areas.

Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus. Seen in the Konkovaya study
area as a summer vagrant. No breeding records.

Sabine’s Gull Xema sabini. Seen in all study areas. No breeding
records.

Cuckoo Cuculus canorus. Seen once in the Konkovaya study area.

Snowy Owl Nyctea scandiaca. Seen in all study areas. Breeding
records in the Konkovaya and Chukochya study areas.

Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus. Breeds in all study areas, but not
every year.

Sand Martin Riparia riparia. Seen in all study areas. Breeding
records in the Konkovaya and Chukochya study areas.

Swallow Hirundo rustica. Seen in all study areas. No breeding
records.

Great Grey Shrike Lanius excubitor. Seen in all study areas except
Chukochya and the Pokhodskaya Yedoma study areas. No breeding
records.

Siberian Jay Perisoreus infaustus. Once recovered from Peregrine
pellets in the Pokhodskaya Yedoma study area.

Carrion Crow Corvus corone. Recorded in all study areas as an
occasional visitor. No breeding records.

Siberian Accentor Prunella montanella. Breeding records in the
Konkovaya study area.

Naumann’s Thrush Turdus naumanni. Common breeder in the
Konkovaya study area.

Redwing T. iliacus. A single male was seen in 1984 in the Nerpichye
Lake study area (Kretchmar et al. 1991).

Stonechat Saxicola torquata. Breeding records in the Konkovaya
study area (Gavrilov & Potapov 1991).

E. R. Potapov 72 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

Brambling Fringilla montifringilla. Recorded once in the Konkovaya
study area (Gavrilov & Potapov 1991).

Common Rosefinch Carpodacus erythrinus. Breeding record in the
Nerpichye Lake study area.

Pine Grosbeak Pinicola enucleator. One record of a vagrant in the
Konkovaya study area.

Pallas’s Reed Bunting Emberiza pallasi. Breeds in the Konkovaya
study area.

Snow Bunting Plectrophenax nivalis. Seen on migration in all study
areas. Recorded breeding in the Pokhodskaya Yedoma study area.

Acknowledgements

The research was funded in various years by the Leningrad State University
(1982-1983), the Institute of Biological Problems of the North (Magadan, Siberia)
(1982-1990), the East Palearctic Wetlands Bureau (Magadan, Siberia) (1991), the Soros
Scholarship (Soviet-American Foundation ‘Cultural Initiative’) (1989-1990), Balliol
College (Oxford) (1990-1992). Earthwatch Europe (1992), and the Abu Dhabi Research
Hospital and Dr. Andy Bennet (1992). I am particularly grateful to Dr A. Andreev
(Magadan) for his support of my research in the tundra. I also wish to acknowledge
the help and field assistance given by Valentin Nickolayich Khlestkin, I Strelkova,
E. Khlebosolov, I. Shushkevich, H. Loskutova and Dima Gavrilov. The first draft of
the paper was commented on by Professor Christopher M. Perrins, Euan Dunn and
Michael G. Wilson (EGI, Oxford).

References:

Andreev, A. V. & Dorogoy, I. V. 1987. [Nesting of Snow Goose in the Kolyma and
Chaun lowlands.] Bull. MOIP. biol. 92: 42-44.

Buturlin, S. A. 1905. [Nesting grounds of the Ross’s Gull.] Psovaya 1 ruzheinaya okhota:
9-12.

Buturlin, S. A. 1906a. The breeding grounds of the Ross’s Gull. Ibis (8)6: 333-337.

Buturlin, S. A. 1906b. [News from the Kolyma expedition.] Proc. Russ. Imp. Geogr. Soc.
42, no. 1.

Chernov, Yu. I. & Khlebosolov, E. I. 1989. [Food chains and species structure in tundra
insect-eating bird populations.] Jn: Yu. I. Chernov (ed.), Birds in Tundra Zone
Communities. Nauka publishers, Moscow.

Densley, M. 1991. Ross’s Gulls in Siberia. Dutch Birding 13: 168-175.

Gavrilov, V. V. & Potapov, E. R. 1991. [Ornithological findings in the Malaya
Konkovaya river.] Ornitologiya 25: 151.

Gribanovsky, N. N. 1915. [Notes on Polar expeditions to the Kolyma region.] Proc.
Yakut Branch Russ. Imp. Geogr. Soc. 1.

Khlebosolov, E. I. 1986. [Food resources of the tundra waders and their behaviour
during the reproductive period.] Zool. Zh. 6: 1032-1040.

Kondrat’ev, A. Ya. 1979. Biology of Waders in the Tundras of North-east Asia.
Vladivostok.

Kretchmar, A. V., Andreev, A. V. & Kondrat’ev, A. Ya. 1991. [Birds of the Northern
Plains.| Nauka publishers, Leningrad.

Maidel, G. 1894. [Journey to the north-east Yakutia region in 1868-1870.] Appendix to
Proc. Russ. Imp. Acad. Sci. (St. Petersburg) 74(3), suppl.

Revsin, G. I. 1952. [Heroism of the Life of Ivan Chersky.| Moscow.

Riley, J. 1918. Annotated catalogue of a collection of birds made by Mr. Copley Amory,
Jr, in north-east Siberia. Proc. U.S. Natl Mus. 54: 607-625.

Schaaning, H. A. 1954. A contribution to the ornithology of eastern Siberia based on
collections made by Mr. Johan Koren in Kolyma in 1914-1918. Nytt Mag. Zool.,
no 2.

Schaaning, N. T. L. & Sverdrup, H. V. 1928. Birds from the North Siberian Ocean. Scz.
Results Norwegian N. Pole Exped. 6: 16.

Spangenberg, E. P. 1960. [On the birds of the Lower Kolyma.] Ornitologiya 3: 106-111.

S. E. Davis et al. 73 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

Thayer, J. E. & Bangs, O. 1914. Notes on the birds and mammals of the Arctic coast of
Siberia. Proc. New England Zool. Club 5: 1-48.

Tugarinov, A. Ya., Smirnov, N. A. & Ivanov, A. I. 1934. [Birds and mammals of
Yakutia.] Proceedings for the study of development resources, Leningrad.

Vorob’iov, K. A. 1963. [Birds of Yakutia.| Acad. Sci. Moscow.

Vrangel, F. P. 1841. [Journey along northern coast and northern sea in 1820-1824.] St.
Petersburg.

Address: Eugene R. Potapov, Edward Grey Institute, Dept. of Zoology, South Parks
Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, U.K.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994

New departmental records and notes for some
Bolivian birds

by Susan E. Davis, Omar Rocha O., faime Sarmiento &
Werner Hanagarth

Received 2 April 1993

Delimitation of bird distributions in Bolivia is important because the
country is situated at the transition between several biogeographic
regions: Amazonia, Gran Chaco, Cerrado and the Andes. Many
Amazonian bird species reach the southern extension of their range in
Bolivia; likewise, there are numerous species that reach their northern,
western or eastern range limit in Bolivia. Remsen & Traylor (1989)
presented departmental records for 1274 species and additional
distributional data (with 37 new records for the country) have been
contributed by Hanagarth & Sarmiento (1988), Bates et al. (1992),
Cabot (1990), Parker (1989), Parker et al. (1991), Parker & Bailey
(1991) and Davis & Flores (1994).

Here we present new departmental records for 52 species. A revision
of the birds in the Coleccion Boliviana de Fauna (CBF), La Paz,
Bolivia, produced 26 departmental records including the first
documented record for some species listed in Remsen & Traylor (1989)
as sight records. Recent fieldwork by ORO produced 10 additional
departmental records based on voice recordings and one photograph;
the recordings were analysed by T.. A. Parker, III and are housed at the
CBF. Also included are sight records (*) for 19 species easily identified
in the field; many of these species are wide-ranging water-birds. Sight
records by ORO and JS on the Rios Madre de Dios and Manuripi,
Dpto. Pando, were made while navigating in a motorized launch. In
addition to the new departmental records, we include ‘first specimen’
data for 11 species previously documented by voice recordings. Among
the records reported are the first specimens for Bolivia of Notiochelidon
flavipes and Turdus lawrencu. We also present data for some species
known in the country from only a few localities (Lurocalis semitorquatus,
Nyctiprogne leucopyga, Caprimulgus sericocaudatus, Cymbilaimus
lineatus, Frederickena unduligera, Herpsilochmus longirostris, Myrmeciza

S. E. Davis et al. 74 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

fortis, Formicarius colma, Cyanocorax violaceus). We follow the
nomenclature and taxonomy used by Remsen & Traylor (1989).
Departamentos are abbreviated: Beni (BE), Chuquisaca (CH),
Cochabamba (CO), La Paz (LP), Oruro (OR), Pando (PA), Potosi
(PO), Santa Cruz (SC) and ‘Tarija (TA). Localities frequently
mentioned include: (1) Serrania de Eva Eva (15°29'S, 66°28’W), 230 m,
Prov. Ballivian (BE), (2) Espiritu, Estancia Elsner Yacuma (14°08’S,
66°24'W), 170m, Prov. Yacuma (BE), (3) Aserradero San Francisco
(13°33’'S, 68°00'W), 250 m, Prov. Iturralde (LP) and (4) Rio Madre de
Dios, between Riberalta (11°00’S, 66°06’W), 139m and Puerto Chive
(12°22’'S, 68°36’W), 180m, borders Prov. Madre de Dios, and Prov.
Manuripi (PA). The authors are abbreviated SED, ORO, JS and WH.

Species accounts

GREY TINAMOU TJinamus tao

BE: Serrania Eva Eva, 22 October 1990, collected by ORO
(CBF 2179). This represents the first specimen for BE. Parker (1989)
reported the first records for BE based on voice recordings. The species
previously has been recorded from lowland habitats in CO, LP, PA and
SC (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

NEOTROPIC (OLIVACEOUS) CORMORANT Phalacrocorax brasilianus*
PA: Rio Madre de Dios, 27 September to 2 October 1991, fairly
common, sight record by ORO. Previous records include neighbouring

BE and LP, as well as CO, SC, OR and PO (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

ANHINGA Anhinga anhinga*

PA: Rio Madre de Dios, 27 September to 2 October 1991, fairly
common, sight record by ORO. The species previously has been
recorded from lowland habitats in BE, CO, LP and SC (Remsen &
Traylor 1989).

GREAT EGRET Casmerodius albus*

PA: Rio Madre de Dios, 27 September to 2 October 1991, common,
sight record by ORO. Previous records are from lowland habitats of
neighbouring BE and LP, as well as CH, CO, SC and TA (Remsen &
Traylor 1989).

CATTLE EGRET Bubulcus ibis

*PA: Prov. Manuripi, Rio Manuripi, San Silvestre (11°50’S,
68°40'W), 2 October 1991, JS saw groups of up to 10 individuals, some
in breeding plumage, in disturbed grassy areas with cattle. Other
individuals were seen by ORO in similar habitat at Arroyo Tulupa,
8 km SW of Santa Rosa (12°13’S, 68°24’W), Rio Madre de Dios, 180 m,
8 October 1991. These represent the first records for PA. Previous
records are from lowland habitats in BE, CH, CO, LP, SC and TA
(Remsen & Traylor 1989).

S. E. Davts et al. 75 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

BE: Espiritu, 8 February 1986, WH collected an individual ‘“‘sobre
nido”’ (CBF 0993); apparently immature, the bird was not in breeding
plumage and had blackish legs (gonadal data are lacking). The breeding
colony at Espiritu, in a tajibillo (Tabebuia insignis, Bignoniaceae)
swamp, numbers as many as several thousand pairs in some years;
breeding is from October to March (WH pers. obs.). This represents
the first specimen for BE although numerous sight records exist (e.g.
Pearson 1975, Flores 1988, Parker 1989, Rocha 1990a).

SNOWY EGRET Egretta thula*

PA: Rio Madre de Dios, 27 September to 2 October 1991, common,
sight record by ORO. Previous records are from lowland habitats in
BE, CO, LP and SC (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

OR: Prov. Cercado, Lago Uru Uru, 6km by road SW of Oruro
(17°59’'S, 67°10'W), 3700 m, 13 November 1991, one individual seen by
JS and S. Barrera. This is apparently the second record of the species
from the puna zone of Bolivia; Rocha (1990b) reported a sight record
for Prov. Sud Lipez, PO. The species also has been seen in the Lake
Titicaca area of Peru (J. Fjeldsa pers. comm.).

LITTLE BLUE HERON Egretta caerulea*

LP: Provs. Franz ‘Tamayo and Iturralde, lower Rio Tuichi, 300 m.
SED saw two lone individuals in adult plumage at the river’s edge, 6
October 1992. This is apparently the third locality for the country.
Hanagarth & Sarmiento (1988) reported the first record for Bolivia
from Espiritu, BE (where it was recorded throughout the year), and R.
O. S. Clarke (pers. comm.) has seen this species in Parque Nacional
Amboro, SC. The species, which breeds in northern South America,
also has been recorded in Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina (see Hayes
et al. 1990). Breeding has not been confirmed in Bolivia although
Hanagarth & Sarmiento (1988) reported six individuals in a mixed
colony of breeding herons and storks.

BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON Nycticorax nycticorax*

PA:Prov. Manuripi, Rio Manuripi (11°15’S, 67°45’W), 167m, 13
October 1991, JS saw one adult individual. This apparently is the first
record of the species in Amazonian lowland habitat; previous records
are for BE, CO, LP, OR, SC and TA from non-Amazonian or puna
habitats (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

ROSEATE SPOONBILL Platalea ajaja*

PA: Rio Madre de Dios, 21 September 1991, ORO saw a group of
three individuals on a beach and a fourth lone individual in flight.
Previous records are from non-Amazonian lowland habitats in BE, LP,

SC and TA (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

MAGUARI STORK Ciconia maguari*

LP: Prov. Iturralde, Ixiamas savannas, 45 km N of Ixiamas (13°35’S,
68°05’W), 200 m, 24 August 1991, one individual observed foraging in
a savanna stream by JS. Previous records are from non-Amazonian

lowland habitats in BE, CO, SC and TA (Remsen & Traylor, 1989).

S. E. Davis et al. 76 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

BLACK VULTURE Coragyps atratus

BE: Espiritu, 26 April 1987, collected by WH (CBF 1156). This is
the first specimen for BE although sight records are common. The
species also has been recorded from lowland habitats in CO, LP, PA,
SC and TA (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

SOUTHERN SCREAMER Chauna torquata*

PA: Prov. Manuripi, Rio Manuripi (11°15’S, 67°45'W), 167m. JS
saw two individuals fly over the river on 13 October and an individual
was heard on the morning of 14 October 1991. Previous records are
from non-Amazonian lowland habitats in BE, CH, CO, SC and TA
(Remsen & Traylor 1989).

ORINOCO GOOSE Neochen jubata*

PA: Rio Madre de Dios, 27 September to 1. October 1991,
uncommon, alone or in pairs, seen by ORO. The species also has been
recorded from lowland habitats in BE, CO, LP, SC and TA (Remsen &
Traylor 1989).

HARPY EAGLE Harpia harpyja

LP: Aserradero San Francisco, 14 August 1990, collected by JS
(CBF 2063). Previously reported from lowland habitats in CO and SC
(Remsen & Traylor 1989), this record and the following represent a
considerable western extension of the species’ range in Bolivia.

*PA: Prov. Manuripi, Rio Madre de Dios, Puerto Nuevo Esperanza
(11°52’S, 67°58’W), 186 m, 1 October 1991, JS saw an adult individual
in flight over the river at 0645 hr.

BLACK CARACARA Daptrius ater*

PA: Rio Madre de Dios, 28 September 1991, ORO saw two
individuals foraging on the beach and one in a tree at the river’s edge;
13 October 1991, one individual in forest along the river. Previous
records are from Amazonian lowland habitats in BE, CO, LP and SC
(Remsen & Traylor 1989).

LINED FOREST-FALCON Micrastur gilvicollis

BE: Serrania Eva Eva, 23 October 1990 (CBF recording). This is the
first record for BE; the species previously has been recorded from
Amazonian lowland habitats in CO, LP, PA and SC (Remsen &
Traylor 1989).

BAT FALCON Falco rufigularis

PA: Prov. Manuripi, Rio Madre de Dios, Santa Rosa (12°13’S,
68°24’'W), 180m, 3 August 1986, collected by L. A. Ruedas
(CBF 0423). This represents the first specimen for PA; Remsen et al.
(MS) reported the first sight record for PA. The species is distributed
throughout lowland Bolivia having been recorded previously in BE, |
CH, CO, LP, SC and TA (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

S. E. Davis et al. 77 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

GREATER RAZOR-BILLED CURASSOW Mitu tuberosa

PA: Prov. Manuripi, Rio Manuripi, Puerto Cardenas (11°21'S,
67°45'W), 162m, 14 October 1991, JS recorded a hunter-killed
individual. An adult domesticated bird was photographed (CBF) at
Puerto Limon (10°59’S, 66°24’W), Rio Madre de Dios, 130m, 19
October 1991. Previous records are from Amazonian lowland habitats

in BE, CO, LP and SC (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

COMMON MOORHEN Gallinula chloropus*

OR: Prov. Cercado, Lago Uru Uru, 6km by road SW of Oruro
(17°59’S, 67°10’W), 3700 m, 13 November 1991, one individual seen by
JS and S. Barrera. Distributed patchily in the puna zone of the Andes
(Fjeldsa & Krabbe 1990), previous records from the Bolivian puna
include LP (Serrano & Cabot 1982; Remsen et al. 1985) and PO (Bond
& Meyer de Schauensee 1943). The species also has been recorded for
CH, CO, SC and TA (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

PURPLE GALLINULE Porphyrula martinica*

BE: Espiritu, near Rio Yacuma, one individual observed several
times between February and April 1990 by WH. This is apparently the
second record for BE: Remsen (1988) reported the first sight record.
The species also has been recorded from Amazonian lowland habitats
in LP and SC (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

SUNGREBE Heliornis fulica*

PA: Rio Madre de Dios, 29 September 1991, two individuals seen
along the shore by JS. Rio Manuripi, Puerto Cardenas (11°21'S,
67°45’W), 162m, 14 October 1991, one individual seen by JS in a
backwater with floating vegetation (Eichornia crassipaes). Previous
records are from lowland habitats in BE, CO, LP, SC and TA (Remsen
& Traylor 1989).

BLACK-NECKED STILT Himantopus mexicanus

BE:Espiritu, 5 September 1985, collected by WH (CBF 0976). The
greyish-white crown of this specimen indicates the southern form
melanuras (Blake 1977). This represents the first documented record for
BE; Parker (1989) reported a sight record. The species also has been
recorded from CO, LP, OR, SC and TA (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

SOLITARY SANDPIPER Tinga solitaria

BE: Espiritu, 10 January 1983, collected by WH (CBF 1725). This
represents the first specimen for BE. Pearson (1975) and Remsen
(1986) previously reported sight records of this northern migrant for
BE from November to March. It has been recorded from lowland
habitats throughout Bolivia (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

BLACK SKIMMER Rynchops niger*

PA: Rio Madre de Dios, 27 September to 2 October 1991, fairly
common, sight record by ORO. Previous records include BE, CO, LP,
OR and SC (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

S. E. Davis et al. 78 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

PICUI GROUND-DOVE Columbina picui*

OR: Prov. Avaroa, Rio 'Tacagua, 6km by road N of Challapata
(18°45’S, 66°50’W), 3800 m, 13 November 1991, JS saw a group of 10
individuals in a fallow field. ‘This widespread species now has been
recorded from all departamentos in Bolivia, from a variety of habitats
ranging from lowland to puna regions (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

RED-AND-GREEN MACAW Ara chloroptera

PA: Prov. Manuripi, Rio Madre de Dios, Arroyo Tulupa, 8 km SW
of Santa Rosa (12°13’S, 68°24°W), 180m, 8 October 1991 (CBF
recording). Previous records are from Amazonian lowland habitats in

BE, CO, LP and SC (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

PAINTED PARAKEET Pyrrhura picta

PA: Prov. Manuripi, Rio Madre de Dios, Puesto Castanero Chive,
15 km by road NW of Puerto Camacho (11°31'S, 67°42’W), 164 m, 126
October 1991 (CBF recording). The species previously has been
recorded from Amazonian lowland habitats in LP and SC (Remsen &

Traylor 1989).

LEAST PYGMY-OWL Glaucidium minutissimum

BE: Serrania Eva Eva, 22 October 1990 (CBF recording). The
locality is the southernmost record for Bolivia. Previous records are
from Amazonian lowland habitats in LP and PA (Remsen & Traylor
1989).

SHORT-EARED OWL As1i0 flammeus

LP: Prov. Aroma, Kulli Kulli (17°27'S, 67°37'W), 4km S of
Huaraco, 3800m, 2 February 1992, collected by ORO and E.
Penaranda (CBF 2331). Three individuals were seen by ORO and
Penaranda and an active nest was found. The nest, on the ground
hidden by a mat of grass (Calamagrostis sp.), contained two white eggs.
First reported for Bolivia (CO) by Remsen et al. (1986), this is
apparently the second locality for the country and the first for LP. The
species occurs sporadically throughout the Andes (Fjeldsa & Krabbe
1990).

OILBIRD Steatornis caripensis

CO: Prov. Chapare, Cavernas de San Rafael, 7 February 1988,
collected by E. Flores (CBF 0614). Sight records have been reported
for CO (Remsen et al. 1986) but this apparently represents the first
specimen for the departamento. The species also has been recorded in

suitable habitat in LP and SC (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

GREAT POTOO Nyctibius grandis

CO: Prov. Ayopaya, Seque Rancho (16°40'S, 66°45’W), 1050 m, 23
August 1992, collected by K. Smith and M. Blair (CBF 2417). Previous
records include BE, LP, PA and SC (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

S. E. Davis et al. 79 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

SEMICOLLARD NIGHTHAWK Lurocalis semitorquatus

BE: F. Steinbach collected two specimens from CO (Remsen pers.
comm.) before the BE record reported by Parker et al. (1991); hence,
Steinbach’s records represent the first for Bolivia. The CO specimens
were collected 4 October 1939 and 16 June 1956 in Prov. Cercado; they
are deposited at the Louisiana State University Museum of Zoology
(LSUMZ 36891, 37344). A second specimen from BE was collected by
ORO on 22 October 1990 at Serrania Eva Eva (CBF 1621). Sight
records have been made from PA (Remsen & ‘Traylor 1989) and
northeastern SC (Parker et al. 1991).

SAND-COLOURED NIGHTHAWK Chordeiles rupestris

PA: Prov. Manuripi, Rio Madre de Dios, Independencia (11°26'S,
67°34'W), 170 m, 7 August 1986, collected by S. Anderson (CBF 1814).
Previous records are from Amazonian lowland habitats in BE, CO, LP
and SC (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

BAND-TAILED NIGHTHAWK WNyctiprogne leucopyga*

PA: Rio Madre de Dios, ORO observed one individual in acrobatic
flight, low over the river on 28 September 1991, and another on 10
October 1991 at Puerto San Miguel (11°37'S, 67°47’W), 165 m. These
are the first records for PA and the westernmost records for the species.
The first Bolivian specimens were collected in 1964 by J. Cuello along
the Rio Iténez, BE (Parker et al. 1991). Recent sight records have been
made along the Rio Iténez, BE (Parker et al. 1991) and the Rio Paragua,
SC (Bates et al. 1989).

SILKY-TAILED NIGHTJAR Caprimulgus sericocaudatus

PA: Prov. Manuripi, Rio Madre de Dios, Puesto Castanero Chive,
15 km by road NW of Puerto Camacho (11°31'S, 67°42’W), 164 m, 15
October 1991, collected by ORO (CBF 2592). This apparently
represents the second locality for Bolivia and the first for PA. A rare
species known from only a few localities in South America, it was first

reported for Bolivia from LP (Schulenberg & Remsen 1982).

BAND-WINGED NIGHTJAR Caprimulgus longirostris

OR: Proy. Avaroa; 10km by road NW of Challapata (18°45'S,
66°50’W), 3700 m, 18 April 1992, collected by SED (CBF 2546). The
species previously has been recorded from the puna zone of Peru,
western Bolivia and Argentina (Fjeldsa & Krabbe 1990); records for
Bolivia also include CO, LP and SC (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

LADDER-TAILED NIGHTJAR Hydropsalis climacocerca

PA: Prov. Madre de Dios(?), (11°20'S, 66°22’W), 13 June 1987,
collected by G. W. Graffin (CBF 2591); the specimen tag reads ‘‘Rio
Madre de Dios” but the locality described by the coordinates is on the
Rio Beni, Prov. Madre de Dios. This is the first specimen for PA.
Remsen et al. (MS) reported the first sight record for PA. The species
also has been recorded from Amazonian lowland habitats in BE (Parker

et al. 1991), CO, LP and SC (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

S. E. Davis et al. 80 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

WHITE-BELLIED WOODSTAR Acestrura mulsant

SC: Prov. Caballero, Comarapa, El Tunal, 17°55’S, 64°30’W,
2000 m, 21 December 1988, collected .by F. Hinojosa (CBF 1973).
Previous records include CO and LP (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

WHITE-TAILED TROGON Trogon v. viridis

LP: Aserradero San Franciso, 12 August 1990, collected by JS
(CBF 2171). This represents the first specimen for LP. Parker (MS)
reported the first sight record for LP and Parker & Bailey (1991) the
first documented record based on a voice recording. The species also
has been recorded in Amazonian lowland habitats in BE, PA and SC
(Remsen & Traylor 1989).

RUFOUS MOTMOT Baryphthengus martii

BE: Serrania Eva Eva, 23 October 1990, collected by ORO
(CBF 1619). Previous records include CO, LP, PA and SC (Remsen &
Traylor 1989).

GREEN-AND-RUFOUS KINGFISHER Chloroceryle inda

LP: Aserradero San Francisco, 15 August 1990, collected by JS
(CBF 2167). This represents the first documented record for LP.
Parker & Bailey (1991) previously reported a sight record for LP. The
species also has been recorded from Amazonian lowland habitats in BE,

CO, PA and SC (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

CURL-CRESTED ARACARI Pteroglossus beauharnaesit

LP: Aserradero San Francisco, 20 August 1990, a pair collected by
JS (CBF 1646, 1653). These represent the first specimens for LP. First
reported for LP from sight records (Parker MS), Parker & Bailey
(1991) documented the record with voice recordings. Previous records

also include BE, CO and PA (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

RINGED WOODPECKER Celeus torquatus

SE: Serrania Eva Eva, 24 October 1990 (CBF recording). Previous
records are from Amazonian lowland habitats in LP, PA and SC
(Remsen & Traylor 1989).

SPECKLED SPINETAIL Cranioleuca gutturata

BE: Prov. Ballivian, Colegio Técnico Agropecuario Rio Colorado
(14°55’S, 67°05'W), 35 km by road N of Yucumo, 300 m, 14 February
1992, collected by K. Smith (CBF 2351). Previous records are from
Amazonian lowland habitats in CO, LP and PA (Remsen & Traylor
1989).

FASCIATED ANTSHRIKE Cymbilaimus lineatus

PA: Prov. Manuripi, Rio Madre de Dios, Puesto Castanero Chive,
15 km by road NW of Puerto Camacho (11°31'S, 67°42’W), 164 m, 20
October 1991, collected by ORO (CBF 2214). This represents the first
documented record for PA and apparently one of a few localities for the
country. Sight records have been reported for PA (Remsen et al. MS)

S. E. Davis et al. 81 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

and BE (Parker 1989), and records based on specimens for LP (Bond &
Meyer de Schauensee 1943, Parker & Bailey 1991).

UNDULATED ANTSHRIKE Frederickena unduligera

BE: Serrania Eva Eva, 22 October 1990 (CBF recording). The
locality is the southeasternmost record. First recorded for Bolivia from
Alto Madidi, LP (Parker et al. 1991), this is the second record for the
country of this uncommon species.

PLAIN ANTVIREO Dysithamnus mentalis

BE: Prov. Yacuma, Estacién Biolégica del Beni (14°38’S, 66°18’W),
210m, 21 December 1988, collected by ORO (CBF 1547); Prov.
Moxos, San Lorenzo (15°46’S, 65°26’W), 175m, 29 May 1992,
collected by K. Smith (CBF 2526). These are the first specimens for
BE; Parker (1989) reported the first record for BE based on voice
recordings. Previously recorded from the foothills and eastern slopes of
the Andes (CO, LP and SC), these apparently are the first records of
the species in lowland habitats away from the Andes (Remsen &
Traylor 1989).

LARGE-BILLED ANTWREN Herpsilochmus longirostris

BE: Espiritu, 23 July 1987, a pair collected by WH (CBF 1133,
1276). This is the westernmost confirmed locality for the species, and
one of a few for the country. First collected in Bolivia along the Rio
Iténez, northeastern BE, sight records for western BE were made by
Remsen (see Bates et al. 1992). Recently the species was recorded from
northeastern Bolivia in BE (Parker & Rocha 1991) and SC (Bates et al.
1992).

RUFOUS-WINGED ANTWREN Herpsilochmus rufimarginatus

PA: Rio Madre de Dios, Puerto Remanso (10°57’S, 66°18’W), 130 m,
21 September 1991 (CBF recording). Previous records are for BE, LP
and SC (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

PLUMBEOUS ANTBIRD Myrmeciza hyperythra

LP: Aserradero San Franciso, 6 August 1990, collected by JS
(CBF 1644). This represents the first specimen for LP. Parker (MS)
first reported a sight record for LP and Parker & Bailey (1991)
documented the record with voice recordings. Previous records also

include BE and PA (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

SOOTY ANTBIRD Myrmeciza fortis

LP: Prov. Franz ‘Tamayo, Rio Tuichi, Campamento Santa Rosa
(14°27'S, 67°53’W), 336m, 14 October 1992, collected by M. Blair
(CBF 2519). This is the southernmost known locality for this species
and apparently the third locality for Bolivia (Parker et al. 1991). Parker
& Remsen (1987) reported the first record for Bolivia from PA and
Parker et al. (1991) reported the first record for LP from Alto Madidi.

RUFOUS-CAPPED ANT-THRUSH Formicarius colma

LP: Prov. Franz Tamayo, Rio Tuichi, Campamento Santa Rosa
(14°27'S, 67°53’W), 336m, 14 October 1992, collected by M. Blair

S. E. Davis et al. 82 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

(CBF 2520). This is the southernmost known locality for this species
and one of a few localities for the country; also the first specimen for
LP. The species was first recorded for Bolivia from PA (Parker &
Remsen 1987), and Parker (MS) and Parker & Bailey (1991) reported
sight records for Alto Madidi, LP.

TAWNY-CROWNED PYGMY-TYRANT Euscarthmus meloryphus

PA: Prov. Manuripi, Rio Madre de Dios, Humaita (12°02’S,
68°11’W), 224 m, 29 August 1985, collected by E. Flores (CBF 0270).
‘This is the first specimen for PA. Remsen et al. (MS) reported the first
record for PA based on voice recordings. Previous records also include

BE, SC and TA (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

OLIVACEOUS FLATBILL Rhynchocyclus olivaceus

PA: Prov. Manuripi, Rio Madre de Dios, Puesto Castanero Chive,
15 km by road NW of Puerto Camacho (11°31’S, 67°42’W), 164 m, 20
October 1991, collected by ORO (CBF 2275); Rio Madre de Dios,
Puerto Remanso (10°57’S, 66°18’W), 130 m, 21 October 1991, collected
by ORO (CBF 2269). Previously recorded for CO and LP, these
apparently are the first records of the species away from the foothills of
the Andes (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

GREY-CROWNED FLYCATCHER Tolmomyias poliocephalus

BE: Serrania Eva Eva, 22 October 1990 (CBF recording). Previously
recorded from Amazonian lowland habitats in LP and PA, this
apparently is the southernmost record for the species in Bolivia

(Remsen & Traylor 1989).

WHITE-CRESTED SPADEBILL Platyrinchus platyrinchos

BE: Serrania Eva Eva, 23 October 1990 (CBF recording). Previously
recorded from Amazonian lowland habitats in LP and PA, this
apparently is the southernmost record for the species (Remsen &
Traylor 1989).

ALDER FLYCATCHER Empidonax alnorum

LP: Prov. Larecaja, Tomachi (15°28'S, 67°45'W), 520 m, 13 March
1983, collected by E. Flores (CBF 0164). This northern migrant
previously has been recorded from lowland habitats in BE, CH, CO,
PA and SC (Remsen & ‘Traylor 1989).

BRIGHT-RUMPED ATTILA Attila spadiceus

BE: Prov. Ballivian, Colegio Técnico Agropecuario Rio Colorado
(14°55’S, 67°05'W), 35 km by road N. Yucumo, 300m, 14 February
1992, collected by K. Smith (CBF 2350). This is the first specimen for
BE. The first record for BE was based on a voice recording (Parker
1989). Previous records also include CO, LP, PA and SC (Remsen &
Traylor 1989).

SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHER Myiodynastes luteiventris
LP: Prov. Sud Yungas, Puente Solacama, 30km by road N of
Irupana (16°25’'S, 67°28'W), 1289m, 7 January 1989, collected by

S. E. Davts et al. 83 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

VY. Baptista (CBF 0691). This represents the first specimen for LP. The
first record for LP was based on a voice recording (Parker & Bailey
1991). Previous records for this northern migrant include BE, CO and
SC (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

CHESTNUT-CRESTED COTINGA Ampelion rufaxilla

CO: Prov. Chapare, Inca Chaca, Tablas Monte (17°14'S, 66°10'W),
2600 m, 17 October 1991, collected by S. Arias and J. Fyeldsa
(CBF 2115). This is apparently one of a few records for Bolivia;
previous records are for LP (Remsen & Traylor 1989, Parker & Bailey
1991). The species occurs scattered throughout the Andes (1860-
2740 m); it is generally uncommon or rare (Fjeldsa & Krabbe 1990).

GREY-BREASTED MARTIN Pyrogne chalybea

BE: Espiritu, 22 April 1987, collected by WH (CBF 1350). The
species has been seen by WH over a number of years (1986-1992), only
in April-November when, although rare, it was seen regularly in small
numbers (2-6), near buildings; the birds appeared to be paired but no
breeding behaviour was observed. This is the first documented record
for BE; Pearson (1975) reported the first sight record for BE. Previous
records also include CO, PA, SC and TA (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

PALE-FOOTED SWALLOW Notiochelidon flavipes

CO: Prov. Chapare, Inca Chaca, Tablas Monte (17°14'S, 66°10’W),
2700 m, 18 October 1991, collected by J. Fjeldsa (CBF 2108). This
represents the first specimen for Bolivia. Previous sight records are
from the humid temperature zone in CO, LP and SC (Remsen &
Traylor 1989).

LAWRENCE’S THRUSH Turdus lawrenciu

LP: Proy. Franz Tamayo, Rio Tuichi, Campamento Santa Rosa
(14°27'S, 67°53’W), 336m, 11 October 1992, collected by M. Blair
(CBF 2515). This represents the first specimen for Bolivia and the
locality is the southernmost record (Parker et al. 1991). The species
previously has been documented by voice recordings in LP (Parker et
al. 1991, Parker & Bailey 1991), PA (Parker & Remsen 1987) and BE
(Parker MS).

VIOLACEOUS JAY Cyanocorax violaceus

LP: Proy. Iturralde, Alto Madidi, Rio Enatagua (13°40'S, 68°43W),
370 m, 25 September 1990, collected by F. Guerra (CBF 1616). This
represents the first specimen and the second record for LP; it is the
third published record for Bolivia. First reported for Bolivia from PA
(Parker & Remsen 1987), Parker & Bailey (1991) reported the first
record for LP based on a voice recording from the same locality as this
specimen.

YELLOW-GREEN VIREO Vireo flavoviridis
LP: Prov. Sud Yungas, Concesién Cooperativa Sapecho (15°32’S,
67°21'W), 440m, 25 January 1991, collected by V. Baptista

S.E. Davis et al. 84 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

(CBF 2588). This northern migrant previously has been recorded for
BE, CO and SC (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

SLATE-COLOURED SEEDEATER Sporophila schistacea

LP: Prov. Sud Yungas, Colonia Tupiza, 10km by road SE of
Sapecho (15°32’S, 67°21’W), 440m, 29 and 31 January 1990, V.
Baptista collected 3 adult $d, 2 immature g¢9 and 2 99 (CBF 1831,
1832, 1937, 1938, 1842, 1843, 1845). The birds were members of a
monospecific flock feeding on rice grains in a cultivated field. Flocks of
10-25 individuals were seen regularly in rice fields in the area and the
species is considered a pest by local farmers (V. Baptista pers. comm.).
Previous records are from Amazonian lowland habitats in BE, CO, PA

and SC (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

GREY-HEADED TANAGER Eucometis penicillata
LP: Aserradero San Francisco, 9 August 1990, collected by JS

(CBF 2161). The species previously has been recorded from lowland
habitats in BE, CO, PA and SC (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

GOLDEN-BELLIED EUPHONIA Euphonia chrysopasta

BE: Prov. Yacuma, Estacién Biolégica del Beni (14°38’S, 66°18’W),
210 m, 23 October 1988, collected by ORO (CBF 1564). This specimen
represents the first record for BE (Rocha 1988). Parker (1989)
subsequently reported a voice recording for BE. The species also has
been recorded for CO, LP, PA and SC (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

Acknowledgements

J. V. Remsen identified Lurocalis semitorquatus, Caprimulgus sericocaudatus and
Hydropsalis climacocerca. Dave E. Willard and Doug A. Stotz helped identify other
difficult species. We thank T. A. Parker for identifying tape-recorded species. J. V.
Remsen, J. Fjeldsa and T. A. Parker made valuable comments on the manuscript.

References:

Bates, J. M., Garvin, M. C., Schmitt, D. C. & Schmitt, C. G. 1989. Notes on bird
distribution in northeastern Dpto. Santa Cruz, Bolivia, with 15 species new to
Bolivia. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 109: 236-244.

Bates, J. M., Parker, T. A., III, Capparella, A. P. & Davis, T. J. 1992. Observations on
the campo, cerrado and forest avifaunas of eastern Dpto. Santa Cruz, Bolivia,
including 21 species new to the country. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 112: 86-98.

Blake, E. R. 1977. Manual of Neotropical Birds. Vol. 1. Univ. Chicago Press.

Bond, J. & Meyer de Schauensee, R. 1943. The birds of Bolivia. Part II. Proc. Acad. Nat.
Sct. Philadelphia 95: 167-221.

Cabot, J. 1990. First record of Upucerthia validirostris from Bolivia and new Bolivian
distribution data. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 110: 103-107.

Davis, S. E. & Flores, E. 1994. First record of White-winged Nightjar Caprimulgus
candicans for Bolivia. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 104: 127-128.

Fjeldsa, J. & Krabbe, N. 1990. Birds of the High Andes. Apollo Books, Svendborg,
Denmark.

Flores, E. I. 1988. Perfil ornitologico de la reserva de la bidsfera ‘‘Estacion Biologica
Beni’. Mus. Nac. Hist. Nat. (Bolivia), Comunicacion 8: 7-14.

Hanagarth, W. & Sarmiento, J. 1988. Egretta caerulea Linnaeus 1758 (Ardeidae), una
nueva especie para Bolivia. Ecologia en Bolivia 12: 9-12.

S.E. Davts et al. 85 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

Hayes, F. E., Goodman, S. M. & Lopez, N. E. 1990. New or noteworthy bird records
from the Matogrosense region of Paraguay. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 110: 94-102.

Parker, T. A., III. (MS). Observations on birds of the Rio Heath, Peru and Bolivia.

Parker, T. A., ITT. 1989. An avifaunal survey of the Chimanes Ecosystem Program Area
of northern Bolivia 17—26 June 1989. Unpubl. report.

Parker, T. A., III & Bailey, B. 1991. A biological assessment of the Alto Madidi region
and adjacent areas of northwest Bolivia May 18—June 15, 1990. Conservation
International Publications, Washington, D.C.

Parker, T. A., III & Remsen, J. V., Jr. 1987. Fifty-two Amazonian bird species new to
Bolivia. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 107: 94-107.

Parker, T. A., III & Rocha O., O. 1991. La avifauna del cerro San Simon, una localidad
de campo rupestre aislado en el Depto. Beni, noreste Boliviano. Ecologia en Bolivia
17: 15-29.

Parker, T. A., III, Castillo U., A., Gell-Mann, M. & Rocha O., O. 1991. Records of new
and unusual birds from northern Bolivia. Bull. Brit. Orn. 11: 120-138.

Pearson, D. L. 1975. Un estudio de las aves de Tumi Chucua, Departamento Beni,
Bolivia. Pumapunku 8: 50-57.

Remsen, J. V., Jr. 1986. Aves de una localidad en la sabana humeda del norte de Bolivia.
Ecologia en Bolivia 8: 21-35.

Remsen, J. V., Jr. 1988. Nuevos registros de aves para el Departamento de Cochabamba,
Bolivia. Comun. Mus. Nac. Hist. Nat. 6: 13-14.

Remsen, J. V., Jr., Parker, T. A., III, Quintela, C. E. & Rosenberg, K. V. (MS). An
ecological profile of a tropical forest in Amazonian Bolivia.

Remsen, J. V., Jr. & Traylor, M. A., Jr. 1989. An Annotated List of the Birds of Bolivia.
Buteo Books, Vermillion, South Dakota.

Remsen, J. V., Jr., Traylor, M. A., Jr. & Parkes, K. C. 1985. Range extensions for some
Bolivian birds, 1 (Tinamiformes to Charadriiformes). Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 105:
124-130.

Remsen, J. V., Jr., Traylor, M. A., Jr. & Parkes, K. C. 1986. Range extensions for some
Bolivian birds, 2 (Columbidae to Rhynocryptidae). Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 106: 22-32.

Rocha O., O. 1988. Adicidn de especies a la avifauna de la Reserva de la Bidsfera
“Estacion Biologica Beni’’, Bolivia. Ecologia en Bolivia 12: 13-15.

Rocha O., O. 1990a. Lista preliminar de aves de la Reserva de la Bidésfera ‘“‘Estacién
Biologica Beni’. Ecologia en Bolivia 15: 57-68.

Rocha O., O. 1990b. Avifauna de la Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina ‘‘Eduardo
Avaroa’’ Prov. Sud Lipez, Potosi-Bolivia. Mus. Nac. Hist. Nat. (Bolivia)
Comunicacion 9: 54-64.

Schulenberg, T. S. & Remsen, J. V., Jr. 1982. Eleven bird species new to Bolivia. Bull.
Brit. Orn. Cl. 102: 52-57.

Serrano, P. & Cabot, J. 1982. Lista de las aves de la reserva nacional Ulla Ulla con
comentarios sobre su abundancia y distribucion. Seria EE-42 INFOL, La Paz,
Bolivia.

Addresses: Susan E. Davis, Division of Birds, Field Museum of Natural History,
Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60605, U.S.A. (present
address: Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado, Universidad Aut6nomo
Gabriel Rene Moreno, Casilla 2489, Santa Cruz, Bolivia). Omar Rocha O., Jaime
Sarmiento, Werner Hanagarth, Coleccién Boliviana de Fauna, Museo Nacional de
Historia Natural, Casilla 8706, La Paz, Bolivia.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994

P. A. Clancey 86 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

An additional subspecies of the Croaking
Cisticola from the temperate uplands of
southern Africa

by P. A. Clancey
Received 8 February 1993

The Croaking Cisticola Cisticola natalensis (Smith), 1843, is the
largest-sized member of the genus and has a wide continental range,
occupying open grassland habitats and eschewing most wooded
savanna types. It was initially made known to science on material of the
southern terminal population occurring in Transkei and Natal collected
by Dr Andrew Smith during the course of his political mission to
Zululand in 1832. In his definitive revision of the genus Cisticola,
Lynes (1930) accorded nominate C. natalensis, the type-locality of
which is Durban, Natal, an extensive range, extending in the east well
to the north of the Zambezi R. In a more recent assessment of the
species’ geographical variation, Traylor (1986), following Clancey
(1969), restricts C. n. natalensis to regions lying well south of the
Zambezi from the plateau of Zimbabwe and Mozambique south of the
Save R. to the eastern Cape, Transkei, Natal, Swaziland and the
eastern Transvaal. Still more recent study into the present cisticola’s
subspeciation levels reveals that four rather than three races should be
recognised in the Southern African Subregion alone, one of which will
require to be given a name.

The disrupted range of C. natalensis in the southern third of Africa,
as demonstrated in Hall & Moreau’s Atlas of 1970, shows the species in
the south of its range distributed from sea level to 1525 m in the high
interior, this translating into a mosaic of populations varying in the
intensity of the dorsal streaking and ground colouration. Subspecifi-
cally relevant variation is well-shown in freshly moulted non-breeding
dress material but to a reduced extent in the strikingly different
breeding plumage, both plumages in turn being rapidly affected by
both fading through exposure to the sun and grass abrasion. These
changes need to be taken into account in subspeciation studies. It is
now found that the nominate race is relatively reddish or ochreous
tawny and finely streaked over the upper-parts in fresh non-breeding
dress (late April-June) and is confined to the humid coastlands from
about the Kei R. of the eastern Cape-Transkei border, north to the
Lebombo Mtns and the Mozambique lowlands from Maputo Bay
southwards. The birds breeding over the temperate eastern highlands
of the Transvaal and much of the Zimbabwean plateau to the north of
the Limpopo R. are paler and more heavily streaked in comparison,
distinctly less reddish, and may now take the name

Cisticola natalensis vigilax subsp. nov.

Type. 3, adult. ‘““The Downs’’, southwest of Tzaneen, Transvaal,
at 24°08'S, 30°11’E, 1371 m a.s.l., 24 September 1974. Collected by

P. A. Clancey 87 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

P. A. Clancey. In the collection of the Durban Natural Science
Museum, D. M. Reg. No. 30017. Gonads noted as enlarging.

Description. Differs from C. n. natalensis in non-breeding dress (late
April-June) in having the ground-colour of the upper surface much less
reddish and more stone-coloured, the shaft-streaking broader and
blacker, that over the hind-neck less suppressed. Over the entire dorsal
surface the feathers are edged light Cinnamon-Buff or duller, versus deep
Tawny-Olive in nominate natalensis (Ridgway 1912). Rump greyer with
little or no tawny overlay, and edging to wing-coverts and remiges
lighter and greyer. White below, with reduced buff on breast, sides and
flanks. In the breeding dress (from October) not well-differentiated and
about as uniform over the upper-parts, but ranging somewhat greyer
and more scaled over the mantle. Similar in size.

Compared with C. n. matengorum Meise, which replaces it to the
northeast, differs in the non-breeding dress in being lighter, less
reddish, tawny (feathers in matengorum Buckthorn Brown) over the
upper-parts, but equally heavily streaked. Buff over underside paler. In
the breeding dress lighter and greyer above, the shaft-streaking in
matengorum broader and brownish black, and with the hind-neck
streaking finer and on a light buffish grey ground. In matengorum the
hind-neck ground-colour and shaft-streaking is consistent with that of
the crown, mantle and scapulars. Tail also with smaller black
sub-apical spots and paler apices. Similar in size to matengorum.

Measurements. Non-br. dress: wings of 19 ¢¢ 69-75 (72.1), s.d. 1.57;
tails of 10, 60-69 (64.5), s.d. 2.39. Wings of 4 992 58-59.5 (58.6), tails
52.5-60 (54.7) mm.

Material examined. 26 (Transvaal: Komati R., Hector Spruit,
‘Nelspruit, Barberton, Sabi Sands Nature Reserve, ‘““The Downs’’,
Groot Spelonken (south of Louis Trichardt); Swaziland: Ranches Ltd
(Eranchi); Botswana: Gaborone; Zimbabwe: Matopos (Angelsea Farm),
Umvuma, Mt Selinda, Beatrice. Two specimens from northern
Zululand appear to be migrants: 3 Candover, 6 September 1964, and 3
near Melmoth, 1 July 1951). Also of C. n. natalensis 50, C. n.
matengorum 14, and other taxa 10.

Range: The eastern highlands and adjacent escarpment and
immediate lowlands of the Transvaal from about Amsterdam in the
south, north to the Soutpansberg (to about 22°30’S (Kemp et al. 1985)),
adjacent Swaziland, and recorded once in breeding dress from
southeastern Botswana (29 July 1910). Re-appears north of the arid
Limpopo R. valley over the plateau of Zimbabwe from Matabeleland in
the southwest, north to Mashonaland, where meeting and intergrading
with C. n. matengorum (Irwin 1981). The Candover and Melmoth
records mentioned earlier, and mixed samples comprising both
examples of C. n. natalensis and C.n. vigilax from northern Swaziland
(Ranches Ltd) and lowland Transvaal, immediately to the north (at
Hector Spruit), indicate a measure of cold dry season movement on the
part of elements of vigilax, from the more exposed grasslands of the
eastern Transvaal highlands.

Measurements of the type. Wing 73.5, culmen from base 18, tarsus
30.5, tail 56 (moult) mm. The specimen is in moderately worn dress,

P. A. Clancey 88 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

but has been selected in order to place the type-locality of the
subspecies on the summit grasslands of the eastern high country of
‘Transvaal.

Etymology. Vigilax from Latin vigilare to be watchful=always on the
alert.

Remarks. The established ranges of the four subspecies to be
recognised from the Southern African Subregion are summarized
hereunder:

(a) Custicola natalensis natalensis (Smith), 1843: Durban, Natal. From
the Kei R., on the eastern Cape/Transkei border, to coastal and
midland Natal, Zululand, the Lebombo Mtns and southern
Mozambique to the Maputo Bay region.

(b) Cisticola natalensis vigilax Clancey, 1994: ‘““The Downs’’, eastern
Transvaal, at 24°08’S, 30°11’E. Eastern Transvaal highlands and
adjacent escarpment region to the plateau of Zimbabwe, as
outlined above.

(c) Cuisticola natalensis holubii (Pelzeln), 1882: Pandamatenga, north-
eastern Botswana. Locally distributed from northwestern
Zimbabwe, adjacent northeastern Botswana and southwestern
Zambia from the Machili R. at 17°07'S, 25°08’E to Kasusu and
Kalomo (Benson et al. 1971); also eastern Caprivi Strip, Namibia.
Replaced to the north by C. n. katanga Lynes, 1930.

(d) Custicola natalensis matengorum Meise, 1934: Nambunchu,
Southern Province, Tanzania. Mozambique lowlands from about
the Save R., eastern highlands of Zimbabwe from Chipinga
northwards, eastern Zambia, Malawi, and southeastern Tanzania
to the south of C. n. littoralis van Someren, 1943.

Acknowledgement

I am indebted to Dr A. C. Kemp of the Transvaal Museum, Pretoria, for the loan of the
entire series of the Croaking Cisticola held in their collection.

References:

Benson, C. W., Brooke, R. K., Dowsett, R. J. & Irwin, M. P. S. 1971. The Birds of
Zambia. Collins.

Clancey, P. A. 1969. Systematic and distributional notes on Mocgambique birds. Durban
Mus. Novit. 8: 261-262.

Hall, B. P. & Moreau, R. E. 1970. An Atlas of Speciation in African Passerine Birds.
British Museum (Nat. Hist.), London.

Irwin, M. P. S. 1981. The Birds of Zimbabwe. Quest Publishing, Salisbury (Harare).

Kemp, M. I., Kemp, A. C. & Tarboton, W. R. 1985. A Catalogue of the Birds of the
Transvaal. Transvaal Museum and Transvaal Nature Conservation Division,
Pretoria, (appeared later as An Atlas of Transvaal Birds).

Lynes, H. 1930. Review of the genus Cisticola. [bis (12) 6, suppl.

Ridgway, R. 1912. Color Standards and Color Nomenclature. The Author, Washington,
D.C.

Traylor, M. A., Jr. 1986. African Sylviidae, in Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 11.
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard.

Address: Dr P. A. Clancey, Research Associate, Durban Natural Science Museum, P.O.
Box 4085, Durban 4001, South Africa.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994

F. C. Gatther, Fr. 89 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)
Weights of Bornean understory birds*

by Fames C. Gaither, Fr.
Received 12 March 1993

The forest avifauna of South-East Asia is species rich yet little known;
for instance, data on the body weights of understory birds is sparsely
represented in the literature and in museums. In this contribution, I
present data on the body weights of 41 species of understory birds from
lowland forest in West Borneo (Kalimantan), Indonesia.

The data presented here are from a mist-net study of understory
birds in the Gunung Palung National Park (1°13'S, 110°7’E). The
mist-netting took place in two lowland forest habitats, a peat swamp
forest and a dipterocarp forest growing on an alluvial terrace adjacent to
the Air Putih River. From December 1986 to July 1987, I operated 10
mist-nets (12 m long, 2.6 m high, 36 mm mesh, 4 shelf) at ground level
for 2 days per month in each habitat. All birds were identified, and
measured using a Pesola spring balance.

There are some limitations to the data. I did not differentiate males
from females, nor did I differentiate adults from immatures. I did not
mark individual birds, and thus I may have captured and weighed the
same individual bird more than once. Finally, I could not distinguish
between Ceyx erithacus and C. rufidorsus in the field, therefore I
lumped the two species together for data collection purposes.

The nomenclature and order follow that of King et al. (1975). All
measurements are given in grams. For species with 10 or more weights,
the data are given in the form: range; mean, standard deviation (sample
size).

Fee ion indica GREEN-WINGED PIGEON. 89.

Cacomantis merulinus PLAINTIVE CUCKOO. 32.

Alcedo meninting BLUE-EARED KINGFISHER. 31.

Ceyx aces ride reus BLACK/RUFOUS-BACKED KINGFISHER. 16, 16, 17, 17,
EAS Sole Dis

Lacedo pulchella BANDED KINGFISHER. 50.

Sasia abnormis RUFOUS PICULET. 8, 9, 9, 10, 10, 11.

Meiglyptes tukki BUFF-NECKED WOODPECKER. 46, 47, 51, 52, 53, 53.

Blythipicus rubiginosuus MAROON WOODPECKER. 70.

Calyptomena viridis GREEN BROADBILL. 55.

Chloropsis cyanopogon LESSER GREEN LEAFBIRD. 22.

Pycnonotus eutilotus PUFF-BACKED BULBUL. 32, 37, 37.

Setornis cringger HOOK-BILLED BULBUL. 26, 28, 29, 35.

Pycnonotus brunneus RED-EYED BULBUL. 20, 22.

Criniger bres GREY-CHEEKED BULBUL. 32-51; 41.94, 5.26 (n=16).

Criniger phaeocephalus YELLOW-BELLIED BULBUL. 24-40; 32.05, 3.83 (n=41).

Hypsipetes cringer HAIRY-BACKED BULBUL. 16, 16, 17, 17, 17, 18, 19.

Hypsipetes malaccensis STREAKED BULBUL. 34, 37.

Irena puella ASIAN FAIRY-BLUEBIRD. 56.

*Dr J. B. Dunning, Jr. (Department of Zoology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
30602) has recently published a compilation of bird weights from all hitherto available
sources (CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses; CRC Press, 1992). He appeals for new
and old unpublished data, for incorporation in future editions. This is therefore the last
paper of this kind to be published in the Bulletin. Ed.

C. Ryall 90 Bull. B.O.C, 1994 114(2)

Pellorneum capistratum BLACK-CAPPED BABBLER. 23-27; 25.10, 1.52 (n=10).
Trichastoma malaccense SHORT-TAILED BABBLER. 17-26; 21.45, 2.28 (n=20).
Trichastoma bicolor FERRUGINOUS BABBLER. 27, 28, 29, 29, 30, 31, 31, 34.
Trichastoma sepiarium HORSFIELD’S BABBLER. 23-29; 25.46, 2.21 (n=11).
Malacopteron cinereum SCALY-CROWNED BABBLER. 15-21; 18.07, 1.68 (n=56).
Malacopteron magnum RUFOUS-CROWNED BABBLER. 22-34; 27.23, 3.25 (n=26).
Malacopteron albogulare GREY-BREASTED BABBLER. 14-18; 16.47, 1.19 (n=15).
Kenopia striata STRIPED WREN-BABBLER. 19, 20, 20, 20, 21.
Stachyris maculata CHESTNUT-RUMPED BABBLER. 26-33; 29.17, 2.04 (n=24).
Stachyris nigricollis BLACK-THROATED BABBLER. 23-31; 26.23, 2.24 (n=13).
Stachyris erythroptera CHESTNUT-WINGED BABBLER. 12, 13, 13, 13, 13, 14, 14,
14

Macronous ptilosus FLUFFY-BACKED TIT-BABBLER. 19.

Cepsychus malabaricus WHITE-RUMPED SHAMA. 31-42; 36.10, 4.33 (n=10).

Copsychus pyrropygus RUFOUS-TAILED SHAMA. 41, 43, 44, 46.

Enicurus ruficapillus CHESTNUT-NAPED FORKTAIL. 27.

Enicurus leschenaultt WHITE-CROWNED FORKTAIL. 27, 29, 30, 38.

Rhinomytas umbratilis GREY-CHESTED FLYCATCHER. 15-21; 18.23, 1.29 (n=47).

Rhipidura perlata SPOTTED FANTAIL. 13, 16.

Philentoma pyrhopterum RUFOUS-WINGED FLYCATCHER. 17, 19, 19, 20, 20, 21,
DDD 22:

Terpsiphone paradisis ASIAN PARADISE-FLYCATCHER. 21.

Hypogramma hypogrammicum PURPLE-NAPED SUNBIRD. 10, 12, 12, 12, 12, 13, 13,
3}.

Aethopyga mystacalis SCARLET SUNBIRD. 6.

Arachnothera longirostra LITTLE SPIDERHUNTER. 9-16; 12.60, 1.66 (n=47).

Prionochilus maculatus YELLOW-BREASTED FLOWERPECKER. 6-9; 7.09, 0.71
(n= 34).

Acknowledgements

The Committee on Population Studies (Stanford University), The Conservation, Food &
Health Foundation, The Explorers Club and Sigma Xi provided financial support. I
thank the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (L. I. P. I.), the Subdirectorate of Forest
Planning and Nature Conservation (P. H. P. A.) and the National Biological Institute
(L. B. N.) for permission to conduct research in Indonesia. M. Leighton provided
logistic support. I thank E. A. Soderstrom for support and encouragement.

Reference:
King, B. F., Dickinson, E. C. & Woodcock, M. W. 1975. A Field Guide to the Birds of
South-East Asia. Collins, London.

Address: James C. Gaither, Jr., Section of Plant Biology, University of California, Davis,
California 95616, U.S.A.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994

Recent extensions of range in the House Crow
Corvus splendens

by Colin Ryall
Received 17 March 1993
The House Crow Corvus splendens has a native distribution stretching

from Southern Iran, throughout the Indian Subcontinent to South
Yunnan in China, and from Nepal to Sri Lanka. They are versatile

C. Ryall 91 Bull. B.O.C. 1994. 114(2)

human commensals, feeding primarily on refuse supplemented with
stolen food, crops, young of domestic fowl, and by predation of smaller
birds and invertebrates. In recent decades they have dramatically
increased their range and now populate many areas bordering the Red
Sea, Indian Ocean and its islands. They have reached Australia on
numerous occasions and in 1991 a House Crow arrived in Gibraltar. In
most of these sites they have proliferated to pest proportions as crop
raiders, destroyers of native avifauna and public health risk, so that
control measures have been implemented at several locations.

House crow distribution and status has been reviewed by several
authors (Ali & Ripley 1972, Meininger et al. 1980, Bylsma & Meininger
1984, Goodwin 1986, Lever 1987). The following paper updates and
supplements these works using both published data and unpublished
observations.

Native distribution

The five races of Corvus splendens are distinguished primarily on the
colour shade of their grey hood, which occupies the nape, upper mantle
and upper breast, much as in the Jackdaw Corvus monedula. Their
distributions are as follows:

C. s. splendens is found throughout India, except for Kerala and the
northwest. It is also present in Bangladesh, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and
Assam.

C. s. zugmayeri has a westerly range, from Kashmir and northwest
India to coastal southern Iran as far as Kharg Island, and north to
Khost in Afghanistan.

C. s. protegatus is restricted to Sri Lanka and Kerala, on the adjacent
Indian mainland.

C. s. maledivicus is found only in the Maldive Islands.

C. s. insolens has an easterly range, through Burma south to
‘Tennaserrim, southwest Thailand and west Yunnan.

Introduced distribution

The House Crow has, during the past 100 years, become established in
many inhabited parts of the Indian Ocean seaboard and its islands. A
country by country description follows, giving a brief history and
present status.

Middle East

In the last 15 years House Crows have established in all main ports on
the Arabian Peninsula whilst remaining absent inland, even in
populous areas with plentiful refuse tips and water (M. C. Jennings).
Many feed on fish offal and garbage in fishing villages.

Saudi Arabia
‘The species was first recorded in Jedda in 1978 (Jennings 1981a) and
is now a common breeding bird. Baldwin & Meadows (1987) observed

C. Ryall 92 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

a flock of 15 House Crows in the port of Yanbu, 300 km to the north, in
1986. ‘They were first seen in the Eastern Province in 1980 and were
breeding by 1983. In 1987, a large flock of 30 birds was seen over Ras
‘Tanura (F. E. Warr). One was also seen travelling aboard the ship Sea
Swallow out of Colombo and left the ship in the south Red Sea. A few
were present in the Gulf of Aqaba town of Haql in 1989 (M. C.
Jennings). There are no records of the species more than a few
kilometres from the coast.

Oman

Meinertzhagen (1924) described House Crows, resembling C. s.
zugmayerl, aS occasional visitors to Muscat from their native Iran.
Later (Meinertzhagen 1954) he noted that they were restricted to the
coastal strip. Since then, they have extended only a few kilometres in-
land, particularly where there are extensive construction works (Walker
1981). Gallagher & Woodcock (1980) regarded the birds as being of the
race zugmayeri or intergrades with the race splendens, and noted that
according to locals they had been introduced to control ticks on
livestock. Occasional sightings on the island of Al Masirah, 300 km
further south, may be as a result of winter movement (Gallagher &
Woodcock 1980). They remain absent from southern Oman, however.

United Arab Emirates

Jennings (1981b) found House Crows to be abundant in the late
1960s and early 1970s in coastal villages with palm plantations, along
the eastern coast. However, by February 1992 their numbers had
become much reduced. M. C. Jennings noted that this coincided with
the development of the area from a simple fishing community to a
modern residential/tourist area with a corresponding improvement in
public hygiene, and a consequent decline in food availability for House
Crows. In 1987, they were reported on Das Island, at Abu Dhabi
airport and Hatta, Huwailat, a few kilometres inland. Present in Dubai
since 1977, they are now locally common there (Richardson 1990).

Bahrain

Although first reported in 1961, House Crows were only recorded
intermittently through the 1970s (Nightingale & Hill 1992); but since
1983 they appear to be resident in villages of north Bahrain and there
have been periodic breeding records. Small parties are frequently seen
in port areas and ship-assisted introductions may occur periodically.

Kuwait

House Crows were first recorded in 1972 and bred in 1983 and 1984.
Pilcher (1989) does not, however, consider them as resident and
suggests that their seasonal occurrence may reflect migrations from the
native population in neighbouring Iran.

Yemen (formerly PDRY and North Yemen)
Barnes (1893) reported seeing House Crows in Aden (formerly in
PDRY) in 1866 and 1892 and stated that they had been introduced in

C. Ryall 93 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

the 1840s by an officer from the Bombay Infantry. It is widely believed
locally that they were brought there by Parsee immigrants from India
to devour the bodies of their dead (Ash 1984). By the 1960s they were
common breeding residents in both Aden and Shaykh Uthman and
their numbers have now reached pest proportions so that a poisoning
programme has been in operation for some years (M. C. Jennings). In
Oct-Nov 1989, Jennings found House Crows to be more common at
Lahej, 30 km inland, than they were in Aden. A few were also seen
10 km north of Lahej, 40 km from the coast, and constitute the most
inland population of the species in Arabia. Elsewhere in the former
PDRY, Jennings recorded small numbers of House Crows at Shagra
and Mukulla, and a single bird at Ghaydah; these lie 100, 500 and
800 km east of Aden, respectively.

According to Jennings, they have been breeding residents in
Hodeidd (formerly in North Yemen) since 1975 and, by 1985, two
separate colonies had become established. They also appeared in Al
Khawka, on the coast 100 km south, in 1983.

Israel and Fordan

House Crows were recorded in Elat, Israel, in 1976 and bred the
following year. They are frequently seen flying between Elat and Aqaba
in nearby Jordan where they have also bred (Krabbe 1980). Paz (1987)
considered them as sporadic in Elat, but they appear to be established
and increasing in Aqaba (A. A. Braunlich). Though there are several
reports for Sinai, only that of a pair seen at Nabq in March 1984 is
definite (Goodman & Meininger 1989).

Mediterranean Region

Gibraltar

Between 26 March and 5 April 1991 a single bird was recorded on
the most southerly tip of the rock, and was noted in British Birds (Anon
1992). C. Perez of the Gibraltar Ornithological & Natural History
Society stated that the bird was first seen at Point Europa, the most
southerly tip of the Island, indicating that it flew ashore from a ship at
the first sight of land. Its arrival coincided with the return of a number
of British and Canadian warships from the Gulf conflict, and it is likely
that the bird originated from the well established population at Suez,
unless it was kept as a pet from the Gulf. The bird was wary of the
many tourists who visit Europa Point but remained there, always close
to the seashore, throughout its brief stay. It was seen occasionally flying
out to sea but aborting the flight after 200 m; its final fate is unknown.
This represents as yet the only record of the species in the region.

Africa
Egypt
It appears that House Crows first appeared in Suez in 1922, but they
were misidentified as Jackdaws until Goodwin (1976) identified them
correctly from photographs in 1947. Meininger et al. (1980) and

C. Ryall 94 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

Bilsma & Meininger (1984) described the spread of the House Crow
(ssp. splendens) in the area and estimated the 1981 population at
800-850. By 1979, there were breeding populations in several towns
along the Red Sea coast from Ismailiya to Quseir 300 km to the south
(Goodman & Meininger 1989).

Sudan

House Crows must have been present in Port Sudan long before
1941, when a breeding colony was recorded in the girders of a bridge
near the harbour (Kinnear 1942). ‘They have since become numerous in

the town (Clarke 1967).

Ethiopia

Urban & Brown (1971) stated that House Crows “‘may occur’’ in
Mitsiwa (Massawa); they were abundant there by 1984. According to
A. Mahamued, they were introduced during the British occupation of
Eritrea after the Second World War. Though they reached Assab more
recently, they are now plentiful there (R. 'T. Wilson), and there is an
unconfirmed 1985 report of several House Crows at Asmara (A.
Muahamed).

Djibouti

Clarke (1967) found several House Crows in Djibouti Town in May
1958 and assumed that they had spread from Aden, 240 km to the
northeast. Ash (1985) described them as “‘extremely common”’ in the
town and on the beach in 1978. By 1987, the population stood at several
thousand and was increasing so that control measures were being
considered (R. 'T’. Wilson). Welch & Welch (1984) reported about 18 in
Obock, a small town on the opposite shore of the Golfe de Tadjou.

Somalia

The arrival in Nov 1950 of four House Crows (ssp. protegatus) on a
passenger ship from Colombo and their disembarkation at Cape
Guardafui is well documented (Davis 1951), though they do not appear
to have become established. Ash (1985) referred to an unconfirmed
report from 1972 of House Crows damaging dates further north at
Buthar, but a search in 1979 revealed no evidence of a population. The
species was, however, observed in the small fishing village of Zeilah, in
the extreme north, and may well have spread from Djibouti some
50km distant (Chazee 1987). They are apparently absent from
Mogadishu (H. F. Schels).

Kenya

Since their arrival in Mombasa in the 1940s, probably on a ship from
the long established population in Zanzibar, House Crows (ssp.
splendens) have proliferated to pest proportions (Ryall & Reid 1987). In
1991, the population there was estimated at over one million (D. G.
Kimanga). Their progressive expansion of range in the area and the
establishment in 1977 of a disjunct population in Malindi, also on the
coast 100 km further north, is described in detail by Ryall (in press).

C. Ryall 95 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

Several solitary birds have been reported recently at towns well inland
including Nairobi, 500km NW of Mombasa. These undoubtedly
originate from releases, accidental or deliberate, and none appear to
have become established to date. Recent reports from more distant
locations such as Kisumu and Wajir (G. R. Cunningham van Someren)
almost certainly result from misidentification of other Corvus species.

Their proliferation has been linked with a decline in the native
avifauna in Mombasa, as elsewhere (Ryall 1992). A control programme
launched by the Mombasa Municipal Authorities in 1985 met with
some success, but appears to have lost impetus since 1988, resulting in
a rapid build-up in House Crow numbers (pers. obs.).

Zanzibar & Pemba Island

The introduction of C. s. splendens from Bombay in the 1890s by Dr
Charlesworth and Sir Gerald Portal, to clean up the refuse of Zanzibar
Town (Vaughan 1930), resulted in the establishment of the first
population of the species in the African region and has served as a
nucleus for introductions to the mainland. Pakenham (1979) related
their progressive spread to other settlements on the island. Early
attempts at control had little effect on the large population in Zanzibar
Town, but a recently launched programme is meeting with
considerable success. There has been a concurrent recovery of the
native avifauna which had declined during the House Crow’s
proliferation (Alexander 1991).

Long (1981) stated, on the strength of an unpublished communi-
cation from J. G. Williams in 1962, that House Crows were present on
Pemba Island, but Pakenham (1979) and other visitors did not find
them there. This absence was confirmed in 1986 (A. Southwell) and in
1988 (pers. obs.).

Mainland Tanzania

In 1955, R. Fuggles-Couchman observed a few House Crows,
presumably originating from Zanzibar, on a small island adjacent
to Dar-es-Salaam. K. M. Howell first saw them in Dar-es-Salaam
proper in 1972, where they have subsequently proliferated and
spread. By 1988, they numbered 15-20,000 (N. E. Baker) and had
spread about 30km northward and westward. Manyanza (1989)
provides information on their distribution in the city. A disjunct
population, long established in the coastal town of Tanga, 200 km to
the north, probably derives from a separate introduction from
Zanzibar. ‘They are still absent from Mtwara, on the coast in the
extreme south (K. M. Howell).

Mozambique

In the early 1950s, Dr A. A. da Rosa Pinto shot a House Crow (ssp.
splendens) on Bazaruto Island, north of Inhambene (P. A. Clancey), but
this appears to have been an isolated bird, no further records having
arisen from the area. J. C. Sinclair observed a small breeding
population on Inhaca Island, 200 km to the south, in late 1976, which
according to local inhabitants had been established for many years

C. Ryall 96 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

(Bilsma & Meininger 1984). W. L. N. Tickell counted about 50 there
in the mid-1980s but found none in nearby Maputo, although Sinclair
had seen a few there previously. .

Republic of South Africa

The arrival at Durban in 1972 of two House Crows, flying in from
the sea, presumably from a ship, was described by Sinclair (1974).
‘They remained in the docks for some weeks until joined by a further
three birds, and then moved from the area. Clancey (1974) later saw
five including a recently fledged juvenile, though nesting was not
observed until 1975 (Cyrus & Robson 1980). Despite attempted
eradication by the Natal Parks Department, the species quickly spread
and is now well established in the Indian suburbs near Reunion Airport
where a roost of more than 500 birds gathers each evening (P. A.
Clancey). They are also present in the north of the city, and W. L. N.
‘Tickell estimated the total population in 1987 to be 800-1000 birds.

House Crows also appeared in East London, 500 km to the south, in
Nov 1975 (Cyrus & Robson 1980), presumably through a separate
introduction. A further bird was recorded in Cape Town docks in Oct
1977 (Bylsma & Meininger 1984).

Islands of the Indian Ocean

The Seychelles

In 1970, a single House Crow was seen flying from a ship from
Bombay to St Anne Island, close to Mahe (Feare & Watson 1984), and
another was seen on Bird Island by C. J. Feare in 1978. A further five
crows reportedly arrived on Mahe from an Indian cargo vessel in 1977
(Ryall 1987). Despite periodic attempts at control and a bounty of 500
rupees, the crows numbered about 30 in 1986 (L. Chong Seng) and,
having later dispersed, have established a widespread albeit sparse
population in Mahe (A. P. Skerrett). They are also present on Praslin
and breeding has been recorded on Silhouette. Recently, a single bird
arrived on the nature reserve of Aride Island (Skerrett & Skerrett
1992).

Mauritius

According to Lever (1987), House Crows were first reported by
immigrant Indians in 1810 when the island became a British colony,
and further birds appear to have been introduced from Indian vessels
in 1910 and apparently on a number of subsequent occasions. Diamond
(1987) described their progressive spread to other settlements. Efforts
to control them met with partial success though they persisted at Roche
Bois until reduced to a single bird during a cyclone in 1947. However,
a further two birds flew ashore from the SS Jkauna from Colombo in
1950. Feare & Mungroo (1990), in a detailed study of their distribution
as part of a new control programme, found House Crows to be
restricted to the most populous areas, the total population amounting to

400-600 birds.

C. Ryall 97 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

Laccadive Islands

The population is not native though there has been some debate as to
its origin. Ali & Ripley (1972) ascribed the House Crows to the race
splendens, but Goodwin (1986) identified them as the Maldive

subspecies, maledivicus.

Andaman Islands

Colonel P. C. Tyler released House Crows at Port Blair, South
Andaman, about 1860 during the time of the convict settlement for
sanitary reasons, but they failed to become established (Beaven 1867,
Ball 1873). More recently, Pittie (1988) found 6-10 House Crows
resident in the grounds of Bay Island Hotel in Port Blair. Their dark
neck indicated that they were probably C. s. protegatus of Sri Lankan
origin or C. s. insolens from Burma.

East Asia & Australia

Malaysia

According to Ward (1968) there was a breeding population in Klang,
Selangor, as early as 1898. A deliberate introduction of 56 birds from
Sri Lanka in 1903, to combat caterpillar plagues, is also documented
(Willey et al. 1903). Their progressive dispersion through Selangor and
establishment in Kuala Lumpur is described by Medway & Wells
(1976). House Crows have continued to spread, particularly along the
western coast, and now range from Jeram in the north to Malacca in the
south and inland to Kulim. There is also a disjunct colony at Johor
Bahara on the southern border adjacent to Singapore. By 1986 the
Klang population numbered about 20,000 and that at Kuala Lumpur,
up to 6000 (Lever 1987). D. R. Wells’ monitoring of the House
Crow population reveals that populations are still increasing and the
spread along the western coast of Malaysia and inland continues
unabated.

Singapore

A small colony of House Crows was discovered in trees in the docks
in 1948 (Gibson-Hill 1950), and by the late 1960s a roost of 200-400
birds had developed at the same site (Ward 1968). They most probably
arrived on ships (Medway & Wells 1976). In 1987, C. J. Hails
estimated the population at between 1800 and 3700, the lower than
expected number being attributable to efficient refuse clearance on the
island. He thought that most of the crows were flying in from roosts in
adjacent Johor Bahara, Malaysia, where ample refuse has allowed a
substantial population to develop.

Thailand

Though Peters (1962) suggested that the House Crows (of the race
insolens) present in southwestern Thailand may have been introduced
by man, the contention was not referred to by Lekagul & Cronin (1974)
who described them as rare residents.

C. Ryall 98 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

Hong Kong

Solitary House Crows of unspecified race and unknown origin were
recorded at Kowloon Tong in Nov 1974 and Mai Po in Nov 1980. As
Chalmers (1986) indicated, like many other exotics in the area, they
may have been released by bird collectors. D. S. Melville also recalled
the shipment of about 100 House Crows in the mid-1970s for use in the
making of a film, though none apparently escaped. The coastal location
of these sites makes ship-borne transport a likely origin in both cases;
perhaps from the introduced population on the Malaysian Peninsula. A
1989 record of two House Crows in Kowloon Tong may have resulted
from a deliberate release as this area has a high population of Indians

(D. S. Melville).

Australia

House Crows have arrived in Western Australia and Victoria on
many occasions during this century on board ships from India and Sri
Lanka, but largely due to the vigilance of the authorities, who shot 31
in W Australia between 1950 and 1975 (Frith 1976/7), they have failed
to become established there. Several of these ship-borne arrivals to
Western Australia are very well documented, e.g. Hylton (1927),
McGill (1949), Ruddiman (1952). In Victoria, Gibson (1961) reported
the arrival of three House Crows at Geelong, near Melbourne, on a
ship from Colombo. Further birds were sighted in the Melbourne area
in the years following (Smith & Anderson 1967, Long 1967).

Conclusions

House Crows are spreading in most of their introduced range. As
commensals to man they flourish in areas of poverty and disorganis-
ation. In Africa, human populations are burgeoning and the House
Crow’s range is expanding accordingly along coastal settlements and
inland. Ultimately they are likely to arrive in Madagascar via ships
from the Indian Subcontinent, as was the case in the Seychelles, or
from colonies on the African mainland. The spread of House Crows to
northern Egypt has facilitated their appearance in the Mediterranean
region; at Gibraltar in 1991. In Malaysia too they are expanding their
range and will probably eventually spread by ship-assisted passage to
the more populous parts of Sumatra only 100 km across the Straits of
Malacca from Klang.

The pest status of the House Crow is universally recognised (Ryall in
press) and control measures have been taken in many of the locations to
which they have been introduced. They are crop raiders, killers of
livestock, stealers of food and, concomitant with their proliferation,
there is usually a marked decline in native avifauna. Fortunately, the
potential threat to the endemic avifauna has been recognised in
Mauritius and a control programme has been launched, but the
population in the Seychelles continues to spread unabated. The
potential establishment of the House Crow in Madagascar calls for
constant vigilance on the part of the authorities and international
conservation bodies.

C. Ryall 99 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

From the human perspective, it is Africa where the House Crow
should be viewed with most concern. The poverty and overcrowding in
many areas is an ideal breeding ground for House Crows, exacerbating
existing problems. Their spread is being facilitated further by the
burgeoning human settlements along highways all over that continent.

Measures need to be taken to reduce House Crow populations in
many areas, and to put a halt to the dispersion of the species
particularly on board ships from India and Sri Lanka.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank M. C. Jennings and Sally Astle-Fletcher for their invaluable
comments on the draft paper, and I am further indebted to the following for providing
much of the recent distributional information presented here: M. C. Jennings, Mrs F. E.
Warr, T. Nightingale, A. A. Braunlich, C. Perez, A. Mahamued, R. T. Wilson, H. F.
Schels, D. G. Kimanga, G. R. Cunningham van Someren, A. Southwell, K. M. Howell,
N. E. Baker, P. A. Clancey, W. L. N. Tickell, L. Chong Seng, A. P. Skerrett, D. R.
Wells, C. J. Hails and D. S. Melville.

References:

Alexander, F. 1991. Zanzibar revisited. Swara Sept/Oct 1991: 32.

Ali, S. & Ripley, S. D. 1972. Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan. Vol. 5. Oxford
University Press.

Anon 1992. European news. Brit. Birds 85: 14.

Ash, J. S. 1984. Report of the UNEP ornithologist/ecologist on the advice to the Government
of the People’s Republic of Yemen on ‘Combating the crow menace’ (UNEP/84/0189).

Ash, J. S. 1985. Two additions to the Somalia list: Greater Frigatebird Fregata minor and
Indian House Crow Corvus splendens. Scopus 9: 108-110.

Baldwin, P. J. & Meadows, B. S. 1987. Recent reports. Phoenix 4: 7.

Ball, V. 1873. List of birds known from the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Stray Feathers
1: 51-90.

Barnes, H. E. 1893. On the birds of Aden. Jbis (6)5: 57-83.

Beaven, R. C. 1867. The avifauna of the Andaman Islands. Ibis (2)3: 314-334.

Biulsma, R. G. & Meininger, P. L. 1984. Behaviour of the House Crow Corvus splendens
and additional notes on its distribution. Gerfaut 74: 3-13.

Chalmers, M. L. 1986. Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Hong Kong, 4th ed. Hong
Kong Bird Watching Society.

Chazee, L. 1987. La faune en Somalie. AFVP, Nov. 1987.

Clancey, P. A. 1974. The Indian house crow in Natal. Ostrich 45: 31-32.

Clarke, G. 1967. Bird notes from Aden Colony. Ibis 109: 516-520.

Cyrus, D. & Robson, N. 1980. Bird Atlas of Natal. University of Natal Press.

Davis, M. 1951. Ocean vessels and the distribution of birds. Auk 68: 529-530.

Diamond, A. W. (ed.) 1987. Studies of Mascarene Island Birds. Cambridge University
Press.

Feare, C. J. & Mungroo, Y. 1990. The status and management of the house crow Corvus
splendens (Vieillot) in Mauritius. Biol. Conserv. 51: 63-70.

Feare, C. J. & Watson, J. 1984. Occurrence of migrant birds in the Seychelles.
Pp. 559-574 in D. R. Stoddart (ed.), Biogeography and Ecology of the Seychelles
Islands. W. Junk, The Hague.

Frith, H. J. (ed.) 1976/7. Complete Book of Australia Birds. Reader’s Digest.

Gallagher, M. & Woodcock, M. W. 1980. The Birds of Oman. Quartet Books.

Gibson, J. D. 1961. Colombo crows in Victoria. Emu 61: 244-245.

Gibson-Hill, C. A. 1950. Ornithological notes from Raffles Museum: 9. Bull. Raffles Mus.
23: 65-126.

Goodman, S. M. & Meininger, P. L. 1989. The Birds of Egypt. Oxford Univ. Press.

Goodwin, D. 1976. Crows of the World. British Museum (Natural History), London.

Hylton, C. G. 1927. Colombo crows reach Australia. Emu 2: 44.

Kinnear, N. B. 1942. The introduction of the Indian house crow into Port Sudan. Bull.
Brit. Orn. Cl. 62: 55-56.

C. Ryall 100 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

Krabbe, N. 1980. Checklist of the Birds of Elat. Copenhagen.

Jennings, M. C. 198la. The Birds of Saudi Arabia: a Checklist. Mallet & Co., Bradford.

Jennings, M. C. 1981b. Birds of the Arabian Gulf. George Allen & Unwin.

Lekagul, B. & Cronin, E. W. 1974. Bird Guide of Thailand. Bangkok.

Lever, C. 1987. Naturalised Birds of the World. Longmans, London.

Long, J. L. 1967. The Indian house crow. 7. Agric. W. Austr. 8: 2-3.

Long, J. L. 1981. Introduced Birds of the World. David & Charles, London.

McGill, A. R. 1949. Australian status of the Colombo crow. Emu 49: 83-84.

Manyanza, D. N. 1989. Some observations on the Indian house crow (Corvus splendens)
in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Gerfaut 79: 101-104.

Medway, Lord & Wells, D. R. 1976. The Birds of the Malayan Peninsula. Vol. 5. H. F. &
G. Witherby, London.

Meinertzhagen, R. 1924. A contribution towards the birds of Aden Protectorate. Ibis
(11)6: 625-642.

Meinertzhagen, R. 1954. Birds of Arabia. Oliver & Boyd.

Meininger, P. L., Mullie, W. C. & Bruun, B. 1980. The spread of the House Crow
Corvus splendens, with reference to the occurrence in Egypt. Gerfaut 70: 245-250.

Nightingale, T. & Hill, M. 1992. Birds of Bahrain. Immel Publications, London.

Pakenham, R. H. W. 1979. The Birds of Zanzibar & Pemba. B.O.U. Checklist no. 2.

Paz, U. 1987. The Birds of Israel. Christopher Helm.

Peters, J. L. 1962. Checklist of the Birds of the World. Vol. 15. Museum of Comparative
Zoology, Harvard.

Pilcher, C. W. T. 1989. Oriental scourge—Indian house crow. Phoenix 6: 10.

Pittie, A. 1988. The occurrence of the house crow (Corvus splendens) in Port Blair, South
Andaman Island. 7. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 85: 430.

Richardson, C. 1990. Birds of the United Arab Emirates. Hobby Publications, Dubai &
Warrington.

Ruddiman, J. L. 1952. Corvus splendens in Western Australia. Emu 52: 138.

Ryall, C. 1987. Killer crows stalk the Seychelles. New Scientist 112: 48-49.

Ryall, C. 1992. Predation and harassment of native bird species by the Indian house crow
Corvus splendens in Mombasa, Kenya. Scopus 16: 1-8.

Ryall, C. (in press). The pest status of the Indian house crow Corvus splendens in
Mombasa and a survey of its expansion of range in coastal Kenya. Proc. VIIth
Pan-African Ornith. Congr., Nairobi Aug-Sept 1988.

Ryall, C. & Reid, C. 1987. The Indian house crow in Mombasa. Swara 10: 9-12.

Sinclair, J. C. 1974. Arrival of the house crow in Natal. Ostrich 45: 189.

Skerrett, A. P. & Skerrett, J. 1992. Aride Island Nature Reserve Newsletter, Issue 11.

Smith, F. & Anderson, F. 1967. The Australian Birdwatcher. Dec 1967.

Urban, E. K. & Brown, L. H. 1971. A Checklist of the Birds of Ethiopia. Hailie Sellassie
I Univ. Press, Addis Ababa.

Vaughan, J. H. 1930. The Birds of Zanzibar & Pemba. [bis (12)5: 577-608; 6: 1-48.

Walker, F. J. 1981. Notes on the birds of northern Oman. Sandgrouse 2: 33-55.

Ward, P. 1968. Origin of the avifauna of urban and suburban Singapore. Jbis 110: 239.

Welch, G. & Welch, H. 1984. Birds seen on an expedition to Djibouti. Sandgrouse 6:
1-23.

Willey, A., Treacher, W. H., Carey, E. V., Cochrane, C. W. H., Neubronner, A. D. &
Marks, O. 1903. Acclimitization of Ceylon Crows Corvus splendens in the Malay
Peninsula. Spolia Zeylandica 1: 23-35.

Address: Dr C. Ryall, Farnborough College of Technology, Boundary Road,
Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 6SB, U.K.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994

L. M. Renjtfo M. 101 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

First records of the Bay-vented Cotinga
Doliornis sclateri in Colombia

by Luis Miguel Renjifo M.
Received 7 April 1993

The Andean cotingas in the genera Ampelion, Doliornis and Zaratornis
form a natural group of four species with a controversial taxonomic
treatment. The distribution of these cotingas ranges from northern
Colombia and western Venezuela south to central Bolivia where they
inhabit isolated woodlots above timberline and cloud forests at high
elevations. ‘The overall plumage of both sexes is inconspicuous except
for a nuchal crest which is usually folded but striking when displayed.
All species are mainly frugivorous and are usually found in pairs,
although occasionally they are found in groups at fruiting trees (Parker
1981, Snow 1982, Hilty & Brown 1986). The Bay-vented Cotinga
Doliornis sclateri was described by 'Taczanowski (1874) who suggested a
close relationship with Ampelion. Later, Doliornis was merged in
Ampelion by Bond (1956). The main external difference between the
two genera is the narrower, less hooked bill of Doliornis (Snow 1982).
Recent studies based on electrophoretic, syringeal, and cranial
characters support the split of Doliornis (one species) from Ampelion
(two species), within a monophyletic group including the genera
Zaratornis (one species) and Phytotoma (three species) (Lanyon &
Lanyon 1989).

Doliornis sclateri is a rare species with a local distribution. In Peru, it is
known from the eastern slopes of the Andes in the Departments of
Huanuco, Junin and La Libertad, where it inhabits the upper limit of the
temperate cloud forest at or near timberline from 2500 to 3300 m (Parker
1982). The species has recently been observed in extreme southern
Ecuador in Podocarpus National Park, Loja Province (Fjeldsa & Krabbe
1990). Here I report the first sightings of this species in Colombia.

On 31 August 1989 I observed, at close range, a Bay-vented Cotinga
at 3530m altitude, in the Reserva Natural Canon del Quindio (c.
4°37'N, 75°28'W), Municipality of Salento, Quindio Department on the
western slope of the Cordillera Central. The bird was quietly perched
on the top of a very dense thicket about 1.5m high at the edge of a
forest heavily covered with mosses and other epiphytes. Predominant
trees at the site included species of Weinmannia, Freziera and Polylepis.

At the same locality on 23 October 1989, J. Pérez and I observed a
pair of Doliornis at a distance of 5 m. The birds were feeding on whitish
fruits of a small tree (Miconia chlorocarpa). Afterwards they flew away
without having called. This second sighting was at 3620 m on the ridge
of the Cordillera Central about 0.5 km from the first locality, on the
border between Quindio and Tolima Departments. The two birds were
at the paramo-forest ecotone (treeline), in a low impenetrable thicket of
small trees and bushes. This low forest is frequently buffeted by wind
and covered with mist. Several species of shrubby Melastomataceae and
Ericaeae are numerous, as well as species of Weinmannia, Hesperomeles

L. M. Renjifo M. 102 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

and Hedyosmum, all of which are covered with abundant mosses,
lichens and some orchids; the adjacent paramo is characterized by
grasses (Calamagrostis), shrubs (Hypericum), terrestrial bromeliads
(Puya), and Espeletia hartwegiana, among other species (for further
details see van der Hammen et al. 1983). In early 1991, another
Bay-vented Cotinga was observed at a lower elevation farther north in
the Reserva Natural Canon del Quindio by K. Schultze (pers. comm.);
this individual was at forest edge feeding on white fruits, probably
those of Tournefortia sp. (S. Arango pers. comm.).

The two individuals observed on 23 October were an adult and
juvenile by plumage (see Fjeldsa & Krabbe 1990). The adult had black
lores, crown and forehead, dark grey upperparts, and brown rump. Its
underparts were chestnut, including undertail coverts and belly up to
the lower breast. The adult’s nuchal crest was folded although blown
by the wind. The juvenile coloration was similar to that of the adult,
except that the crown was grey instead of black; I did not observe a
nuchal crest.

Fjeldsa & Krabbe (1990) suggested that the sightings of Doliornis in
southern Ecuador could represent an undescribed species of Doliornis,
although specimens are needed to confirm this possibility. Interestingly
those birds I observed in Colombia differed conspicuously from
specimens from Peru, the latter having the upper back as well as the
rump dark grey while the Colombian birds had dark grey backs and
brown rumps.

Observations of Doliornis described here are similar to those reported
from Peru (Parker 1982, Fjeldsa & Krabbe 1990). All sightings
occurred in forest at or close to treeline. Other sightings also described
these birds as rather inactive, remaining quiet and motionless for
periods of time on the top of trees and shrubs at forest edge or close to
it. In Alto Quindio Doliornis is sympatric with the more common
Red-crested Cotinga Ampelion rubrocristatus, which is found from
treeline down to 2600 m. Both species are of about the same size and
shape. Doliornis can be easily distinguished from A. rubrocristatus by its
darker upperparts, chestnut underparts, absence of a white patch on the
tail, and its less obvious thinner bill.

Doliornis sclateri is a rare species in the Alto Quindio region. I
observed it only twice (3 individuals) during 42 bird censuses (or 0.3
individuals per 10km of transect) conducted over a period of 13
months in high-altitude forest and paramo-forest ecotone. Although I
may have overlooked it at times because of its cryptic coloration and
lethargic, silent habits, the very low frequency of observation offers an
index of the species’ abundance. I never found it at lower elevations,
although I regularly conducted censuses down to 2500 m.

The above observations are the first records of Doliornis in Colombia
and in the northern hemisphere. They represent a northerly range
extension of more than 1000 km from the northernmost published
locality in Podocarpus National Park, Loja, southern Ecuador (Fjeldsa
& Krabbe 1990). The species will probably be found in other high
Andean forests in the Cordillera Central of Colombia and less likely on
the Cordillera Oriental or Cordillera Occidental of Colombia.

L. M. Renjifo M. 103 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

Although the Colombian avifauna is one of the largest in the world,
with 1745 species presently recorded (Carrizosa & Hernandez 1990), it
remains relatively understudied. New species and new records for the
country are still being reported in regions not far from major cities
(Renjifo 1991, Stiles 1992). Of special interest are the forests of the
Andean region and its foothills, not only because of the extraordinary
array of habitats and diversity of fauna that they support, but also
because of the need to improve the effectiveness of current protected
areas and to establish new ones. The finding of the Bay-vented Cotinga
is an indication of the unreported, unknown diversity of forests that are
disappearing at an alarming rate as a result of habitat destruction.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to T. Parker, R. Ridgely and F. G. Stiles for their early suggestions. I am
grateful to J. Blake, B. Loiselle, C. Hochwender and T. Parker who read the manuscript
and offered helpful suggestions for its improvement, and to D. Willard of the Field
Museum of Natural History in Chicago for permitting me to examine specimens of
Doliornis from Peru. I thank S. Arango, C. Campos, L. Pavajeau and J. Pérez who aided
greatly with the field work and K. Schultze for allowing me to use his observations. Plant
identifications were done at Instituto de Ciencias Naturales (Universidad Nacional),
Bogota, and Herbario de Antioquia (Universidad de Antioquia), Medellin. These records
were made during a study supported financially by Wildlife Conservation International
and Fondo FEN Colombia, and logistically by Fundacion Herencia Verde. The staff of
the Corporacion Regional del Quindio, especially H. Castano, gave assistance during the
work at the Reserva Natural del Canon del Quindio.

References:

Bond, J. 1956. Additional notes on Peruvian birds II. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia
108: 227-247.

Carrizosa, J. & Hernandez, G. I. 1990. Selva y Futuro, Colombia. El Sello Editorial,
Bogota, Colombia.

Fjeldsa, J. & Krabbe, N. 1990. Birds of the High Andes. Zool. Mus. Univ. Copenhagen
and Apollo Books, Svendborg, Denmark.

Hilty, S. L. & Brown W. L. 1986. A Guide to the Birds of Colombia. Princton Univ. Press.

Lanyon, S. M. & Lanyon, W. E. 1989. The systematic position of the plantcutters,
Phytoma. Auk 106: 422-432.

Parker, T. A. 1981. Distribution and biology of the White-checked Cotinga Zaratornis
stresemanni, a high Andean frugivore. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 101: 256-265.

Parker, T. A. 1982. Ampelion (Doliornis) sclaterimBay-vented Cotinga. Pp. 60-61 in The
Cotingas (D. Snow). British Museum (Natural History) and Oxford Univ. Press.

Renjifo, L. M. 1991. Discovery of the Masked Saltator in Colombia, with notes on its
ecology and behavior. Wilson Bull. 103: 685-690.

Snow, D. 1982. The Cotingas. British Museum (Natural History) and Oxford Univ.
Press.

Stiles, F. G. 1992. A new species of Antpitta (Formicariidae: Grallaria) from the Eastern
Andes of Colombia. Wilson Bull. 104: 389-399.

Taczanowski, L. 1874. Description des oiseaux nouveaux du Pérou central. Proc. Zool.
Soc. Lond. 1874: 129-140.

van der Hammen, T., Pérez, A. & Pinto, P. (eds) 1983. Estudios de ecosistemas
tropandinos. Vol. 1, La Cordillera Central colombiana, transecto Parque de los
Nevados. J. Cramer, Vaduz.

Address: Luis Miguel Renjifo M., Fundacién Herencia Verde, A.A. 32802 Cali,
Colombia. Present address: Department of Biology, University of Missouri, 8001
Natural Bridge Rd., St. Louis, Missouri 63121-4499, U.S.A.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994

C. G. C. Martin et al. 104 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

Garden Warblers Sylvia borin in the
southwestern Cape Province, South Africa

by C. G. C. Martin, G. D. Underhill G L. G. Underhill

Received 3 April 1993

During winter, Garden Warblers Sylvia borin occur in bushes,
thickets and forest edges in Africa south of the Sahara with the
southern limit of the wintering range coinciding roughly with the
boundaries of the Grassland Biome (Moreau 1972, Curry-Lindahl
1981, Maclean 1993). It thus avoids both the Fynbos Biome and the
Karoo Biome of southern Africa, vegetation zones which, in their
pristine state, consist mostly of low scrub and few trees (Rutherford
& Westfall 1986), essentially unsuitable habitat for Garden Warblers
(Maclean 1993).

In this note, we report the occurrence of three Garden Warblers at
two localities 3.6 km apart near Durbanville (33°51’S, 18°38’E) in the
suburbs of Cape ‘Town. This locality is c. 600 km from the nearest
point in the distribution of Garden Warblers as depicted by Maclean
(1993). All three were mist-netted, ringed, measured, weighed and
released (‘Table 1). One of us (CGCM) had ringed Garden Warblers in
Malawi, and was present when each bird was caught. Colours of the bill
and legs coincided with those described for Garden Warblers in
Zimbabwe (Borret 1971). The identification of two was independently
assessed from descriptions and measurements by R. K. Brooke; for one
of the birds a photograph and a sample of feathers are available. The
bird in the Durbanville Nature Reserve was trapped in a mist-net
near a fig Ficus carica tree in fruit (Underhill 1992), and the two in
the Tygerberg Nature Reserve near two species of taaibos (Rhus
rehmanniana var. uitenhagensis and Rhus laevigata var. incana),
indigenous trees 1.0—2.5_m tall, both in berry and dominant in the
mist-netting area. Both nature reserves have suburban settings in
which planted trees are abundant in gardens and along streets. Under
natural conditions the area, including the nature reserves, would be
treeless.

The only other record of a Garden Warbler in the southwestern Cape
Province was made in dense riparian growth of indigenous trees in fruit
c. 44km east of Durbanville in late February 1985, but the bird “did
not reveal itself sufficiently for positive identification”? (Martin 1986,
Hockey et al. 1989). However, the bird responded to a recording and
‘the call on the tape and the call of the bird were very similar’. The
observer knew the species well in Europe, and given the subsequent
occurrence even further west, his conclusion “‘I have little doubt that it
was a Garden Warbler’’ should be accepted (Martin 1986).

The common factor linking these four reports was the presence of
trees bearing fruit. Garden Warblers are omnivorous, and especially at
stopover sites during migration they eat fruit to rebuild fat reserves

(Bairlein 1987, Thomas 1979).

C. G. C. Martin et al. 105 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)
TABLE 1

Description and measurements (mm) of Garden Warblers mist-netted in the
southwestern Cape Province, South Africa

1 2 3
SAFRING ring no. A90904 AD21094 AD21112
Place Durbanville Nat. Res. Tygerberg Nat. Res. Tygerberg Nat. Res.
Coordinates 33°51’S, 18°38'E 33°52’S, 18°36’E 33°52'S, 18°36’E
Date 22 December 1990 6 February 1993 27 February 1993
Wing-length 81 —! 80
Bill length 10 9 9
(to featherline)

Bill colour upper—grey upper—brown upper—grey

lower—horn-grey lower—horn lower—brown
Tarsus 22 21 22
Legs grey with bluish tinge grey greyish-brown
Tail 58 63 60
Eye dark brown brown brown
Mass (g) 23.97 19.0 20.0
Primary moult no moult 555555441 no moult

‘Longest primary in moult
°The value of 29.2 g in Underhill (1992) is incorrect

Hockey et al. (1989) listed 92 species with expanded ranges or
increased population sizes in the southwestern Cape Province. Of these,
37 were attributed to the replacement of natural fynbos vegetation by
alien trees, plantations and gardens. Amongst the best documented of
these expansions is that of the Pied Barbet Lybius leucomelas
(Macdonald 1986). The Garden Warbler thus may become the first
Palaearctic migrant on the list of species whose range expansion in the
southwestern Cape Province can be attributed, at least in part, to
anthropogenic alteration of habitat structure.

Garden Warblers reaching southern Africa come mostly from the
eastern part of the breeding range (Moreau 1972). Historically, the
breeding range was to the west of the Yenisey River, Russia, but
recently the species has spread eastwards across Krasnoyarsk Territory
of central Siberia in areas of forest-steppe and the southern zones of the
taiga, especially in the regrowth at disturbed sites (Rogacheva 1992). A
possible factor contributing to an expansion in the winter range of the
Garden Warblers is that man-induced changes in habitat in the
breeding area are resulting in increased populations of Garden
Warblers from Asia reaching southern Africa. A second possible
contributory factor is that extended periods of drought during the
1980s in large areas of southern Africa have reduced the amount of food
available in the traditional wintering areas. Drought-related move-
ments of birds into the southwestern Cape (albeit from the arid western
areas of southern Africa) have been recorded for several species;
notably Dusky Sunbird Nectarinia fusca, Black-headed Canary Serinus
alario and Namaqua Sandgrouse Pterocles namaqua (Schmidt 1978,
Longrigg & Steele 1978, Hockey et al. 1989).

P.G. Lee & N. Kang 106 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

Acknowledgements

We thank Mrs T. Dreyer and the Durbanville Municipality for permission to ring at
Durbanville Nature Reserve and Mr K. L. Warner and the Bellville Municipality for
permission at Tygerberg Nature Reserve. The Tygerberg Bird Club Ringing Unit
provided assistance in the field. Mr R. K. Brooke, FitzPatrick Institute, University of
Cape Town, confirmed identifications, Mr T. Trinder-Smith, Bolus Herbarium,
University of Cape Town, identified taaibos specimens. Mr R. Martin, Department of
Nature Conservation, University of Stellenbosch, provided additional information and
commented on an earlier draft. LGU acknowledges support from the University of Cape
Town Research Committee and the Foundation for Research Development, Pretoria.

References:

Barlein, F. 1987. The migratory strategy of the Garden Warbler: a survey of field and
laboratory data. Ringing S Migration 8: 59-72.

Borret, R. P. 1971. Movements and moult in the Garden Warbler in Rhodesia. Ostrich
42: 141-142.

Curry-Lindahl, K. 1981. Bird Migration in Africa. Vols 1, 2. Academic Press.

Hockey, P. A. R., Underhill, L. G., Neatherway, M. & Ryan, P. G. 1989. Ailas of the
Birds of the Southwestern Cape. Cape Bird Club, Cape Town.

Longrigg, T. D. & Steele, D. 1978. Dusky Sunbird Cynnyris fuscus irruption into the
S.W. Cape. Promerops 135: 2-3.

Macdonald, I. A. W. 1986. Range expansion in the Pied Barbet and the spread of alien
tree species in southern Africa. Ostrich 57: 75-94.

Martin, R. 1986. Suspected Garden Warbler in CBC area. Promerops 173: 11.

Maclean, G. L. 1993. Roberts’ Birds of Southern Africa. John Voelcker Bird Book Fund,
Cape Town.

Moreau, R. E. 1972. The Palaearctic-African Bird Migration Systems. Academic Press.

Rogacheva, E. V. 1992. The Birds of Central Siberia. Husum Druck- und
Verlagsgesellschaft, Husum.

Rutherford, M. C. & Westfall, R. H. 1986. Biomes of southern Africa—an objective
categorization. Memoirs of the Botanical Survey of South Africa 54: 1-98.

Schmidt, R. K. 1978. Namaqualand birds moving south owing to drought? Promerops
134: 3-4.

Thomas, D. K. 1979. Figs as a food source of migrating Garden Warblers in southern
Portugal. Bird Study 26: 187-191.

Underhill, G. D. 1992. Garden Warbler Sylvia borin in the southwestern Cape Province.
Safring News 21: 60.

Address: C. G. C. Martin, Department of Surveying and Geodetic Engineering,
University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7700 South Africa. G. D. Underhill, 12
Roseberry Road, Mowbray, 7700 South Africa. L. G. Underhill, Avian
Demography Unit, Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Cape Town,
Rondebosch, 7700 South Africa.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994

‘The reproductive strategies of edible-nest
swiftlets (A4erodramus spp.)

by P. G. Lee & N. Kang

Received 19 April 1993

The Black-nest Swiftlet Aerodramus maximus and the White-nest
Swiftlet A. fuciphagus are important commercially in south-east Asia as
their nests are collected extensively for use in Chinese cuisine and
medicine (see Kang et al. 1991). They are sympatric in many areas

P.G. Lee & N. Kang 107 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

(King et al. 1975) and are similar in some aspects of their behaviour and
ecology. Both are aerial insectivores exploiting overlapping feeding
niches (Waugh & Hails 1983), and nest colonially in caves or suitable
man-made structures (Kang & Lee 1991). The breeding biology of the
Black-nest Swiftlet has been studied in Sarawak (Medway 1962a,b,
Harrisson 1974), and the White-nest Swiftlet in Penang (Langham
1980). In Singapore, Black- and White-nest Swiftlets often form
mixed-species nesting colonies, allowing us to compare reproductive
behaviour of the two species under similar conditions. The Black-nest
Swiftlet normally lays one egg per clutch while the White-nest Swiftlet
lays two. How Black- and White-nest Swiftlets may benefit
reproductively from the difference in their clutch-sizes was investigated
by clutch manipulation experiments and studying the effect of these
experiments on reproductive success. Our results indicate that the
clutch-sizes of the two species may be influenced by two factors: (1) the
ability of the adults to raise the nestlings, and (2) the insurance against
reproductive failure that is provided by laying more than the usual
number of eggs in the clutch.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We studied four mixed-species colonies on the island of Sentosa off the
southern coast of Singapore (1°09'N, 13°45’E) in April-June 1984.
Twenty-nine ‘white’ nests belonging to White-nest Swiftlets and 60
‘black’ nests occupied by Black-nest Swiftlets were numbered and the
progress of the clutches contained in them monitored by visiting them
twice or three times a week. Disturbance to the colonies was minimized
by making the nest visits during the day when the adult birds were
absent. Nestlings were weighed with a 10 g or 50 g Pesola balance, and
wing-length (as defined by King et al. 1975) measured to the nearest
mm. The age of nestlings was estimated using the method of Ricklefs
(1975). Using measurements obtained from 58 Black-nest Swiftlet
nestlings and 48 White-nest Swiftlet nestlings, a graphical plot of
wing-length against age was made for each species, and was used for
estimating age of subsequent nestlings.

Clutch manipulation experiments were carried out on both species.
Care was taken not to disturb the breeding birds by performing the
manipulations when the parent birds were away from the colony. Ten
additional ‘black’ and ‘white’ nests were selected in which the normal
clutch-size was enlarged by adding an extra egg. Thus each ‘black’ nest
contained two eggs instead of one, and each ‘white’ nest three eggs
instead of two. The age difference between the added egg and the
original clutch ranged from 0 to 9 days. One egg was also removed from
another ten ‘white’ nests, leaving one egg per nest instead of two. Once
the clutch had been either ‘enlarged’ or ‘reduced’, its progress was
monitored to the end of the experiment; lost eggs or nestlings were not
replaced. The effects of disturbance caused by the clutch manipulations
on the birds were controlled by handling eggs and nestlings from
manipulated and non-manipulated nests which contained the normal
clutch-sizes in the same way: eggs and nestlings were measured and

P. G. Lee & N. Kang 108 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

TABLE 1
Comparison of the breeding chronologies of Black- and White-nest Swiftlets. The data
are presented as mean, s.d. (n). Incubation and fledging periods are calculated using the
method of Medway (1962a). The incubation period for the White-nest Swiftlet is the
time taken from the laying to the hatching of the first egg; the fledging period is the time
taken from the hatching of a nestling to its leaving the nest. For the White-nest Swiftlet,
the fledging period is the mean for first and second nestlings combined

Duration (days)

Black-nest Swiftlet White-nest Swiftlet
Laying interval — 3.3, 0.4 (7)
Hatching interval — 3.3, 0.9 (21)
Incubation 2505; 222°) 25.1, 0.3 (4)
Fledging 45.9, 2.6 (41) 39.8, 2.6 (20)

weighed and the reproductive success of manipulated nests was com-
pared with non-manipulated nests. Statistical analysis of the data
was based on methods described by Sokal & Rohlf (1969), using the
statistical computer package SPSS/PC* (Norusis 1986).

RESULTS

Breeding chronology

‘Table 1 summarises the breeding chronologies of the two species of
swiftlets. The interval between laying the first and second egg for
White-nest Swiftlets was found to be around three days, consistent
with results reported by Langham (1980). Incubation of the eggs began
after the first egg was laid. The two eggs hatched asynchronously with
a hatching interval of about three days. The incubation period was
similar for the two species (t=1.69, df=9, P>0.05), but the fledging
period was longer by around six days for Black-nest Swiftlets (t=8.53,
df=23, P<0.05).

Nestling growth

Figures 1 and 2 show the graphical plot of body mass and wing
length against age for the Black- and White-nest Swiftlet, respectively.
In both species nestling growth, as measured by body mass, appeared
to follow a sigmoid curve. Using the method described by Ricklefs
(1967, 1983), the Logistic equation was found to provide the best fit to
the curve and takes the form:

M(t)=A{itexp[ — K(t—t)]}—'

where M(t)= body mass (g) at age t, A=asymptotic or peak nestling
body mass (g), K=growth rate (per day), t=nestling age (days) and
t,=age at the point of maximum growth rate (days).

The various nestling growth parameters as described by the Logistic
equation are summarised in Table 2. There appears to be little
difference in the growth rates between the first and second nestlings of
White-nest Swiftlets.

P.G. Lee & N. Kang 109 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

Body mass (g)

25

20
140 15
120 10
100

5
80

0

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 Adult

Age (days)

Figure 1. Increase in body mass (@) and wing length (©) of Black-nest Swiftlet
nestlings. Adult body mass (MM) and wing length (LJ) are shown. Mean and s.d. (vertical
line) are given. Data derived from 58 nestlings.

Clutch manipulation and reproductive success

Three parameters were calculated as indicators of reproductive
success: hatching success, nestling mortality and a reproductive index,
R, expressed as the mean number of nestlings raised per pair of adults
per brood. Hatching success was defined as the percentage of all eggs
being monitored that hatched, nestling mortality as the percentage of
nestlings that died or disappeared from the nest before they were due to
fledge. The reproductive index R combines the effects of hatching
success and nestling mortality. Table 3 shows the reproductive success
of Black- and White-nest Swiftlets with normal-sized and manipulated
clutches. For Black-nest Swiftlets, hatching success was not
significantly changed but nestling mortality was significantly increased
in, ‘enlarged’ clutches when compared with normal-sized clutches
(y°=13.91, df=1, P<0.05). R was, however, not significantly different
between normal-sized and ‘enlarged’ clutches (one-way ANOVA,
F=2.23, df=1,68, P>0.05). In contrast, for the White-nest Swiftlet,
neither enlarging nor reducing the clutch-size appeared to affect
hatching success or nestling mortality significantly a=OA7 t=)
P>0.05), but R was significantly larger in ‘enlarged’ clutches than in
‘reduced’ clutches (one-way ANOVA, F=3.46, df=2,46, Student-
Newman-Keuls range test, P<0.05).

P.G. Lee & N. Kang 110 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

Body mass (g)

18

16

utes |

Wing length (mm) 6 eat ns

120 the
100

8

80 '

60 3

40 4
20

0
0

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Adult
Age (days)

Figure 2. Increase in body mass of first (O) and second (A) nestlings and wing length
(@) of White-nest Swiftlet. Adult body mass (HM) and wing length (LJ) are shown. Mean
and s.d. (vertical line) are given. Data derived from 48 nestlings. Day 0 for both first and
second nestlings is taken as the day on which each nestling hatched.

TABLE 2
Comparison of nestling growth parameters of Black- and White-nest Swiftlets.
K=growth rate; A=asymptotic body mass; t,)_9)=time taken for growth from 10 to 90%
A; N=the number of nestlings from which data were obtained

White-nest Swiftlet

1st 2nd
Black-nest Swiftlet nestling nestling
K (per day) 0.178 0.214 0.210
A (g) 22.0 14.5 14.5
Days to reach A 29 28 31
Ti0-99 (days) 25 20 21
N 58 28 20

DISCUSSION

In tropical species of birds of less than 100 g the value of K typically
ranges from 0.278 to 0.520 (Ricklefs 1976). Thus, by comparison, the

P. G. Lee & N. Kang 111 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

TABLE 3
Reproductive success of Black- and White-nest Swiftlets with normal sized (N),
‘reduced’ (RE) and ‘enlarged’ (E) clutches. N,=total number of eggs; N,=total number
of nestlings; N,;=total number of nests. Fledging success is expressed as 100% — nestling
mortality. Reproductive index, R, is expressed as the number of nestlings (mean, s.d.)
raised per adult pair per brood

Black-nest Swiftlet White-nest Swiftlet
Clutch size 1 (N) 2 (E) 1 (RE) 2 (N) 3 (E)
N, 60 20 10 58 30
Hatching success (%) 97 85 90 83 80
N, ; 58 17 9 48 24
Nestling mortality (%) 24 71 56 58 50
Fledging success (%) 76 29 44 42 50
N, 60 10 10 29 10

R 02735045" 0'5050:53 4s0:400°520 0:69.20.76"" -1-2.0:,0.63

Black-nest Swiftlet (K=0.178) and the White-nest Swiftlet (K=0.214)
have slow growth rates. In nature, both species of swiftlets nest in
caves, which tends to exclude most predators of nestlings except man
(Medway 1963). The reduced risk of predation may have lifted the
selection pressure for fast growth rates (Case 1978). In addition, aerial
insectivory may select for slow growth rates as an adaptation to periods
of food shortages, because flying insects tend to be an unstable and
unpredictable food source (Ricklefs 1969).

Black- and White-nest Swiftlets apparently differ in their reproduc-
tive strategies. The Black-nest Swiftlet lays a single, larger egg per
clutch (see Kang et al. 1991) and apparently concentrates its
reproductive effort on the single nestling, as suggested by the clutch
manipulation experiments. Whilst it was usually able to raise its
normal-sized clutch of one successfully, there was a significant increase
in nestling mortality in the ‘enlarged’ clutches (‘Table 3).

In contrast, the White-nest Swiftlet lays two smaller eggs per clutch,
with a shorter average fledging period than the Black-nest Swiftlet
(Table 1) which may increase the possibility of multiple layings
(Bryant & Hails 1983). Its reproductive strategy appears to be more
opportunistic than that of the Black-nest Swiftlet. In the clutch
manipulation experiments, neither hatching success nor nestling mor-
tality was significantly changed in either ‘reduced’ or ‘enlarged’ clutches
when compared to normal-sized clutches. R was statistically different
between ‘reduced’ and ‘enlarged’ clutches, with an intermediate value
for normal-sized clutches (Table 3). The increase in R in ‘enlarged’
clutches of the White-nest Swiftlet is in contrast to the Black-nest
Swiftlet, where despite the additional egg, R in the ‘enlarged’ clutches
was not significantly different from normal-sized clutches.

The differences in the effect of clutch-size enlargement on the repro-
ductive success of Black- and White-nest Swiftlets may be related to the
availability of food for the additional nestlings. Aerial insect density and

P. G. Lee & N. Kang 112 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

diversity tend to be higher and more stable near the ground or canopy
levels than at higher altitudes (Medway 1962a,b, O’Connor 1975,
Hails & Turner 1985). The heights at which different species of aerial
insectivores feed may be indicated by two measures of the degree of
manoeuvrability in flight: Tail Index (ratio of tail length to body mass)
and Wing Index (ratio of wing length to body mass). As suggested by
Waugh & Hails (1983) and Hails & Amiruddin (1981), a larger index
may indicate a higher degree of manoeuvrability that is advantageous for
species that feed close to vegetation. We were unable to observe either
species of swiftlets feeding during the day as individuals marked with
small coloured streamers did not remain within our range of visibility
and the two species are difficult to separate in the field. But measure-
ments of 60 Black- and 54 White-nest Swiftlets showed that they
differed significantly in both Tail (one-way ANOVA, F=575.77,
df=1,112, P<0.01) and Wing Indices (one-way ANOVA, F=514.33,
df=1,112, P<0.01). White-nest Swiftlets (Tail Index 4.3, Wing Index
9.8) may well be more manoeuvrable in flight than Black-nest Swiftlets
(Tail Index 2.5, Wing Index 6.6). Hence it is possible that White-nest
Swiftlets, morphologically better adapted to feeding at lower heights
than Black-nest Swiftlets, may exploit a wider range of feeding niches,
and are thus less affected than Black-nest Swiftlets by an increased
nestling demand caused by artificial enlargement of the clutch.

In nature, however, few Black- or White-nest Swiftlets lay larger than
usual clutches. A possible factor limiting clutch-size in both species is
the shortage of energy or depletion of stored lipids which may be faced
by females during egg formation (see Kang et al. 1991). In addition,
despite the variety of potential feeding niches available to White-nest
Swiftlets, the adults may usually not be able to feed more than two
nestlings at a time, as in none of the artificially enlarged clutches did all
the nestlings fledge. Therefore the White-nest Swiftlet’s clutch of two
may represent the compromise between producing more eggs but not
having the resources to rear all nestlings to the fledging stage, and
producing fewer eggs but losing the insurance against reproductive
failure that is provided by laying more eggs. In contrast, the Black-nest
Swiftlet’s clutch of one may be one solution to the combined problems of
not having the resources to rear more than one nestling to the fledging
stage, and not benefitting from the insurance against reproductive failure
that is provided by laying more eggs.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to P. Sweet, L. K. Wang, H. T. Tan, C. M. Yang, H. K. Lua and
K. Lim for their help in various aspects of the fieldwork. We thank C. Tan, L. Gan and
the Sentosa Development Corporation for use of premises and facilities, C. J. Hails, J. B.
Sigurdsson and reviewers for their critical comments. This project was supported by
National University of Singapore Research Grants No. RP79/84 and RP900359.

References:

Bryant, D. M. & Hails, C. J. 1983. Energetics and growth patterns of three tropical bird
species. Auk 100: 425-439.

Case, T. J. 1978. On the evolution and adaptive significance of postnatal growth rates in
the terrestrial vertebrates. Quart. Rev. Biol. 56: 253-277.

P. ¥. K. McGowan & A. L. Panchen 1b Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

Hails, C. J. & Amirrudin, A. 1981. Food samples and selectivity of White-bellied
Swiftlets Collocalia esculenta. Ibis 123: 328-333.

Hails, C. J. & Turner, A. K. 1985. The role of fat and protein during breeding in the
White-bellied Swiftlet (Collocalia esculenta). 7. Zool. 206: 469-484.

Harrisson, T. 1974. The food of Collocalia swiftlets (Aves, Apodidae) at Niah Great Cave
in Borneo. 7. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 71: 376-393.

Kang, N., Hails, C. J. & Sigurdsson, J. B. 1991. Nest construction and egg-laying in
Edible-nest Swiftlets Aerodramus spp. and the implications for harvesting. [bis 133:
170-177.

Kang, N. & Lee, P. G. 1991. The Edible-nest Swiftlets Aerodramus spp. Nature
Malaysiana 16: 44-51.

King, B. F., Dickinson, E. C. & Woodcock, M. W. 1975. A Field Guide to the Birds of
South-east Asia. Collins.

Langham, N. 1980. Breeding biology of the Edible-nest Swiftlet Aerodramus fuciphagus.
Tbis 122: 447-461.

Medway, Lord. 1962a. The swiftlets (Collocalia) of Niah Cave, Sarawak. Part I. Breeding
biology. [bis 104: 45-66.

Medway, Lord. 1962b. The swiftlets (Collocalia) of Niah Cave, Sarawak. Part II.
Ecology and the regulation of breeding. Jbzs 104: 228-245.

Medway, Lord. 1963. The antiquity of trade in edible birds’ nests. Fed. Mus. 7. 27:
36-47.

Norusis, M. J. 1986. SPSS/PC* for the IBM PC/XT/AT. SPSS Inc.

O’Connor, R. J. 1975. Initial size and subsequent growth in passerine nestlings.
Bird-Banding 46: 329-340.

Ricklefs, R. E. 1967. A graphical method of fitting equations to growth curves. Ecology
48: 978-983.

Ricklefs, R. E. 1969. Preliminary models for growth rates in altricial birds. Ecology 50:
1031-1039.

Ricklefs, R. E. 1975. Patterns of growth in birds: III. Growth and development of the
Cactus Wren. Condor 77: 34-45.

Ricklefs, R. E. 1976. Growth rates of birds in the humid New World tropics. Ibis 118:
179-207.

Ricklefs, R. E. 1983. Avian postnatal development. Pp. 1-83 zm D.S. Farner, J. R. King
and K. C. Parkes (eds), Avian Biology vol. VII. Academic Press.

Sokal, R. R. & Rohlf, J. F. 1969. Biometry. Freeman, San Francisco.

Waugh, D. R. & Hails, C. J. 1983. Foraging ecology of a tropical aerial feeding bird
guild. [bis 125: 200-217.

Address: P. G. Lee & N. Kang, Department of Zoology, National University of
Singapore, Lower Kent Ridge Crescent, Singapore 0511, Republic of Singapore.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994

Plumage variation and geographical
distribution in the Kalij and Silver Pheasants

by Philip 7. K. McGowan & Alec L. Panchen
Received 27 May 1993

The genus Lophura Fleming consists of ten species of fowl-like
pheasants, commonly called gallo-pheasants. They are distributed
along the Himalaya east of the Indus River to Bhutan and then on
through Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam to China
(including Hainan) and also through Peninsular Malaysia to Sumatra
and Borneo (Howard & Moore 1984, Sibley & Monroe 1990).

P. }. K. McGowan & A. L. Panchen 114 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

Figure 1. Map of South-east Asia with political boundaries (broken lines) to show the
distribution of the Kalijy Pheasant Lophura leucomelanos (area shaded by horizontal
hatching to the left) and Silver Pheasant L. nycthemera (area shaded by vertical hatching
to the right) according to Delacour. The River Irrawaddy and its western tributary, the
Chindwin, are indicated near the junction of the two distributions (heavy lines). After
Delacour (1977) and Johnsgard (1986).

In his review of the genus, Delacour (1949) suggested that two of the
species, the Kalij Pheasant L. leucomelanos* Latham and the Silver
Pheasant L. nycthemera Linnaeus, form a superspecies within the genus
Lophura. The Kalij Pheasant inhabits the forest and jungle of the
Himalaya at moderate altitudes and is also found in the hilly regions of
Burma and western Thailand. The Silver Pheasant is distributed
throughout the mountains east of the River Irrawaddy, from Burma to
Indochina, continental China and Hainan (Fig. 1).

Delacour (1949) listed 9 subspecies of Kalij Pheasant and 13 of
Silver Pheasant, with hybrid zones between the two species occur-
ring at several localities east of the Irrawaddy. Some of his subspecies
had been described previously, often as distinct species; others
Delacour proposed himself. All his subspecies were distinguished
principally by differences in plumage, and were said to be
geographically distinct.

Much of the earlier classification of pheasants had been based on
specimens collected from isolated localities. As was often the case, the

*Sibley and Monroe (1990, p. 19) state that the correct spelling is Jeucomelanos rather
than the more widely used leucomelana.

P.F. K. McGowan & A. L. Panchen 115 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

TABLE 1
Named subspecies of the Kalij Pheasant L. leucomelanos and Silver Pheasant L.
nycthemera in the BM(NH) collections at Tring with the number of specimens examined
and our assigned plumage categories

Number of Plumage
BM(NH) specimens labelled as: individuals category
L. leucomelanos Latham
hamilton J. E. Gray 22 1
leucomelanos Latham 7 1
melanota Hutton 12 2
lathami J. E. Gray 13 1
williamsi Oates 15 4
lathami/williamsi ile 3(7), 410)
oatest Ogilvie-Grant 2
lineata Vigors 14 5
lineata/crawfurdi J. E. Gray 6 5
L. leucomelanos/L. nycthemera 20 3(1), 6(19)
L. nycthemera Linnaeus
rufipes Oates 8 6
rufipes/occidentalis or
occidentalis Delacour 7 6
rippont Sharpe 5 6
ripponi (syn. jonesi Oates) 5 6
beaulieui Delacour 4 6
nycthemera Linnaeus 6 6
fohkiensis Delacour 7 6
engelbachi Delacour 2 6
beli Oustalet 1 6

description of trivial differences from type specimens had resulted in
the erection of a multiplicity of new taxa. In his review, Delacour
attempted a taxonomic reappraisal of the Kalij-Silver Pheasant
complex, but some features of that reappraisal are at odds with the
taxonomic and geographical data. In the present study geographical
variation in the plumage pattern of the upperpart plumage of the male
is investigated. It was primarily the male plumage that Delacour used
to establish his taxa and hence indicate relationships. A clear picture of
this variation across the geographical range of this complex will provide
a realistic background for an analysis of relationships between birds
from various localities.

Materials and methods

‘The present study was based on 173 specimens in the collection of the
British Museum (Natural History)—now the Natural History
Museum—at Tring. A list of these specimens labelled according to
Delacour’s system of subspecies, together with the number inspected
in each subspecies and in each of our plumage categories, is given in

Table 1.

P. FJ. K. McGowan & A. L. Panchen 116 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

The collections at Tring include at least one adult male specimen
of each of the named subspecies of both L. leucomelanos and
L. nycthemera, except for L. l. moffitti, L. n. lewisi, L. n. annamensis,
L. n. berliozi, L. n. whiteheadi, plus the two recently named Chinese
subspecies L. n. omeiensis and L. n. rongjianensis. Of these, L. n. moffitti
is known only from several pairs shipped from Calcutta in 1934
(Delacour 1977) and a single male collected from Bhutan (Ali & Ripley
1984); L. n. lewist and L. n. annamensis both occur at the southeastern
limit of that species’ range in southwestern Cambodia and southern
Vietnam respectively; L. n. berliozi is “‘intermediate between beaulieut
and engelbachi ...’’ and occurs in central Vietnam and Laos, L. n.
whiteheadi ‘“‘resembles nycthemera’’ (Delacour 1949) and is from the
island of Hainan. According to Tan & Wu (1981) “‘our new subspecies
[L. n. rongjtangensis| resembles L. n. beaulieut and L. n. nycthemera’’.

The whole BM(NH) collection was inspected and a series of
specimens (termed voucher specimens by Monroe & Browning 1992)
from all the represented subspecies was laid out for direct comparison.
A sample was chosen, representing all clearly distinguishable plumage
patterns from both species. The reference sample was then used as a
‘type series’ to which most specimens having significant locality data
were compared. In this study, as in other similar ones (e.g. Monroe &
Browning 1992), direct comparison of specimens was essential, because
published descriptions of colour and pattern are invariably inadequate.

In comparing specimens with the reference sample, each specimen
was assigned to a reference pattern on the basis of its plumage. This
assignment was added to the label data, wiz locality, date, original
taxonomic name and current subspecies.

Results

The reference sample consisted of 23 adult male plumage patterns
(=reference patterns) and included at least one specimen from each
named subspecies present at Tring, but where there was seen to be
variation within a subspecies more than one specimen was included.
The 23 patterns fell into six major categories, as follows:

(1) Feathers of the upper back blue/black to brown, those of the
lower back and rump blue/black to brown with a broad white terminal
band (Fig. 2).

(2) Back completely blue/black with no terminal band to rump
feathers (Fig. 2).

(3) Feathers of the upper back blue/black, those of the lower back
and rump blue/black with a broad white terminal band (i.e. as in
category 1). Light spotting or vermiculation is evident on some
feathers, particularly on the lower back and rump (Fig. 2).

(4) Feathers of the upper back blue/black, those of the lower back
and rump blue/black with a broad white terminal band. All feathers
have white markings which follow the contour of the feathers; the
markings vary from disrupted vermiculations to unbroken wavy lines.
Many feathers exhibit both extremes of marking, with relatively

P. ¥. K. McGowan & A. L. Panchen 117 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

Figure 2. Gallo-pheasants, back and rump in dorsal view to show plumage categories:
(a) category 1, (b) category 2, (c) category 3, (d) category 5. Photographs by permission of
the British Museum (Natural History).

broad white lines towards the base, hidden under overlying feathers
(Fig. 3).

(5) Feathers of the lower back lacking the white terminal band. Black
and white lines follow the contours of the feathers and become very
disrupted on the visible part of the feather (i.e. that not hidden by
overlying feathers). The lines are less than 1 mm wide, which, together
with the disruption towards the feather tip, gives the impression from a
distance of being grey (Fig. 2).

(6) Feathers with black and white V-shaped markings, which in
virtually all cases are much broader at the base of the feather than at the
top. The number and width of lines vary. There is some disruption
towards the feather tip in some cases (Fig. 3).

The geographical distribution of each of these plumage categories is
mapped in Figure 4.

P. J. K. McGowan & A. L. Panchen 118 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

b

Figure 3. Gallo-pheasants, back and rump in dorsal view to show plumage categories:
(a) and (b) extremes of category 4, (c) and (d) extremes of category 6. Photographs by
permission of the British Museum (Natural History).

Variation within major categories

The overall distributions of the category 1 pattern is, judging from the
‘Tring specimens, from Dharamsala in the northwest, through Simla
(31°7'N, 77°9'E), the Kumaon Himalaya (29-31°N, 78-81°E) and Nepal
(27-31°N, 80-88°E), disappearing in Sikkim (27—29°N, 88-89°E), then
reappearing in Bhutan and Manipur in the Eastern Himalaya (to about
24-26°N, 92-95°E) (Fig. 4).

There is a limited amount of variation within category 1 throughout
its recorded range. Birds to the west of Nepal (i.e. west of 80°E) have
white shafts to the feathers, whereas those from Bhutan (91°E)
eastwards have black shafts. Furthermore, the terminal band to the
feathers decreases in width from Dharamsala (76°E) to those specimens
labelled ‘“‘Nepal’’? (80-88°E) (most specimens from Nepal are not

P. ¥. K. McGowan & A. L. Panchen bt) Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

Figure 4. Map of South-east Asia showing localities from which our major plumage
categories were recorded. Narrow line represents 1000 m contour.

further localised). Specimens labelled “‘Sikkim’’ (88—91°E—category 2)
lack the white terminal band, but it reappears east of Sikkim. There is,
however, no apparent trend in band width towards the eastern
extremity of the category range.

There is little variation within category 2. Some specimens do,
however, have a very narrow band of white (about 0.5 mm) in the
position of the terminal band. Category 2 birds occur within the range
of those within category 1 and are restricted to the Sikkim valley
(27-28°N, 88-90°E) (Fig. 4).

Birds in category 3 are distributed from Tiddim in west-central
Burma (23°23’N, 93°42’E) northeast to Saidon (Myitkyina District) in
northeastern Burma (25°21'N, 97°54’E) (Fig. 4). They exhibit variation
in both the extent of the white markings and also the distribution of
these markings on the upper parts. From the limited sample there was,
however, no evidence that patterns were arranged in a morphocline
according to geographical position.

Birds in category 4 are distributed from the Arakan Hill Tracts of
southwest Burma (about 21°30'N, 93°E to 21°N, 94°30’E) throughout
northeast Upper Chindwin to Saidon in Upper Burma (25°21'N,
97°54’E). Most specimens, however, were recorded from the
southwestern part of the range (Fig. 4). Category 4 birds vary quite
considerably in the appearance of the lines on the feathers. In some
specimens these lines are very disrupted, appearing almost spotted,
whereas at the other extreme the lines are continuous throughout.

P. J. K. McGowan & A. L. Panchen 120 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

There is one exceptional specimen from Upper Chindwin in Burma
which has four quite broad white lines per feather (reference pattern
no. 10). Otherwise, the feathers have five to six narrow wavy lines.
Again there is little correlation between feather pattern and
geographical position.

Category 5 birds were recorded from east of the Irrawaddy in the
Pegu Yomas (from Prome at 19°N, 95°E southwards) east to Chiang
mai in Thailand (19°N, 99°E) and south to Tennasserim (14°N, 99°E)
and Rahaeng (Tak). Within category 5, there is slight variation in the
extent of the disruption of the lines on the feathers. In addition, the
hidden portion of the feather varies in the clarity of the lines, with quite
distinct broad lines in some specimens, but thinner and more wavy
ones in others.

Category 6 birds are distributed from Myitkyina in Upper Burma
(25°50'N, 97°30’E) in the north, south through the Shan States to
Chaing Rai (19°56'N, 99°51’E), Na Noi (18°30’N, 100°30’E) and
Pak Jong near Korat (15°N, 101°E) in Thailand. Eastwards, they
occur through Xien-Khouang in Laos (19°21'N, 103°'23’E), Tonkin
in northern Vietnam (23°N, 105°E to 22°N, 107°E) to Fukhien in
China (24°N, 116° to 28°N, 117°E). There are some specimens from
the Boloven Plateau in southern Laos (15°N, 107°E) and Hue in
southern Vietnam (16°28’N, 107°35’E). The specimens collected in
the west, close to the Irrawaddy, are darker, with more black on the
feathers than those further east. The darkest birds recorded are
from Mogok (Ruby Mines 23°N, 93°30’E) and Myitkyina District,
but very similar specimens also come from the southeastern limit of
the range at Boloven Plateau and at Hue. The feathers are black or
brown, with 4 to 6 white Vs of 1-2 mm width. The Vs on the lower
back and rump feathers are rather more disrupted than those on the
upper back.

East of the Irrawaddy, there are also some category 6 birds
which approach the birds of category 5 in appearance. These
former have a marked degree of disruption of the lines towards the
feather tip, although this is not so pronounced as in category 5.
The category 6 specimens with the highest degree of disruption of
the lines were, however, recorded from Saidon in Upper Burma.
To the east of Burma, the black lines on the feathers become
increasingly indistinct, so that the birds appear increasingly white

(Fig. 3).

Geographical variation across major categories

The plumage patterns described above can be grouped into two
major assemblages, consistent with the geographical distribution of
the birds concerned. These assemblages are (1) the darker forms,
usually with a white terminal band to the feathers of the lower back
and rump (categories 1, 2, 3 and 4): all these may be assigned to
Lophura leucomelanos, the Kalij Pheasant; (2) the generally lighter
forms with a basic black and white V-pattern to the feathers and no
white terminal band (categories 5 and 6): these may be assigned to

P. ¥. K. McGowan & A. L. Panchen 121 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

L. nycthemera, the Silver Pheasant. However, the two major plumage
assemblages appear to be linked by specimens with feathers which
have black and white V-shaped lines of equal width, the lines being
more or less wavy, or slightly wider black lines (giving the
appearance of white Vs on a black background). This feather pattern
changes in three directions from the centre of the two species’
aggregate range.

(a) To the west of the Irrawaddy River there is a cline of increasing
disruption, and ultimately masking, of this pattern. All along the
Himalaya the specimens are plain-backed and may or may not have a
white terminal band to the feathers of the lower back and rump. Birds
immediately to the west of the Irrawaddy (from Myitkyina southwest
to Arakan Yomas) are at the southeastern end of this trend (category 4).
Northwest of this area are found specimens which have the white
markings as in category 4, but not distributed over the whole of the
back or over the whole expanse of any given feather (category 3). ‘These
specimens are intermediate in appearance between category 4 and
categories 1 and 2, which have no white markings other than the
terminal band seen in category 1. Along the Himalaya, the plumage of
the male upper parts varies but little, and is of category 1 type. The
only exception is that of the completely dark-backed specimens from
Sikkim, which are assigned to category 2.

To the east of the Irrawaddy two geographical trends are apparent.

(b) Moving southwards from the region of the Irrawaddy delta, the
birds have an increasingly disrupted pattern and comprise our plumage
category 5. The pattern of alternating black and white Vs becomes less
distinct the further south the specimens occur.

(c) To the northeast of the Irrawaddy delta specimens are
increasingly white, so that the whitest individuals occur in the extreme
northeast. Traces of black are, however, never lost.

Taxonomic significance

North of the Chindwin River/Irrawaddy River junction, some
members of the western assemblage extend to the east of the Chindwin,
although these specimens are at a low frequency. However, much
further north, around the Myitkyina District and not far from the
source of the Irrawaddy, the major assemblages seem to intermingle
freely. Nevertheless in Lower Burma, where the Irrawaddy forms a
formidable barrier there is, apart from a single specimen attributable
to the eastern assemblage which was recorded from west of the river in
the Arakan Yomas, no evidence of either major assemblage spanning
the river.

Thus, as we note above, it seems to us reasonable to assign all
specimens from west of the lower Irrawaddy to Lophura leucomelanos
(Kalij Pheasant) and all those from the east to L. nycthemera (Silver
Pheasant).

In 1977 Delacour recognised nine Kalij subspecies and fourteen
Silver subspecies. The additional Silver Pheasant subspecies described
since then (Tan & Wu 1981) was added to the list by Johnsgard (1986).

P. J. K. McGowan & A. L. Panchen 122 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

The validity of many of these subspecies must remain in doubt,
particularly if they are founded on pattern alone. Delacour states that
there are six Kalij subspecies west of the Irrawaddy (L. 1. lathami,
williamsi, moffitti, melanota, leucomelanos and hamiltoni). All but moffitti
are included in our study. In Burma there appears to be no relationship
between plumage pattern and geographical position. Many of the
specimens concerned were claimed to be williamsi or lathami/williamsi
intergrades. Birds from Bhutan and Manipur are lathami: any
“intergrades” with williamsi are probably better placed within our
category 3. We therefore suggest that all category 4 specimens should
be referred to williamsi, because the variation occurring within this
category appears to be unrelated to geographical position. This does,
however, restrict the area of distribution for lathami compared to
Delacour’s attributions.

Along the Himalayan range, there is little variation in the plumage of
the back in adult males (apart from the distinctive melanota of Sikkim),
but there are other variable characters, and Delacour uses these to
differentiate subspecies. For example, L. 1. hamiltoni and L. 1.
leucomelanos (the westernmost subspecies) are the only subspecies
which have white breasts. In all other specimens of both species the
breast is black. hamiltoni is then distinguished by its unique white crest;
L. 1. leucomelanos and all other specimens of both species have black
crests. Our use of male upper parts would not separate hamilton and
leucomelanos from one another or from lathami, but we concede that
these other characters are sufficiently important, and _ probably
consistent enough, to characterise all three.

Delacour suggested that the southernmost individuals to the east of
the Irrawaddy, from Lower Burma and western Thailand southwards,
belong to three subspecies of Kali (L. 1. oatesi, lineata and crawfurdt).
Once again there is little difference between them. What there is, is
perhaps related to geographical position. ‘They comprise our plumage
category 5 and the specimens we have investigated suggest that their
pattern is derived from that seen in the Silver Pheasants further north,
but east of the Irrawaddy.

The whitest specimens (all in our plumage category 6) of the Silver
Pheasant are claimed to belong to seven subspecies (L. n. rufipes,
occidentalis, ripponi, beaulieut, nycthemera and fohkiensis: specimens
labelled “‘rvipponi (syn. jonesi)’? are from localities northeast of the
localities of those simply labelled “‘v7zpponi’’—we treat them as jonesz).
Our sample size is small but nevertheless it suggests that variation 1s
simply clinal, with the whitest forms in the extreme northeast.

The darker Silvers are intriguing. It is surprising that the individuals
from the Boloven Plateau in southern Laos and the specimen from Hue
in South Vietnam should resemble some individuals from Upper
Burma so closely, particularly since individuals which inhabit the area
in between exhibit such variation in plumage. Delacour assigned birds
from the southeast to L. n. engelbachi (Boloven Plateau) or beli (Hue),
but claimed that specimens from Upper Burma are Kali/Silver
hybrids. With the exception of one of the latter, all still fall within our
plumage category 6.

P. ¥. K. McGowan & A. L. Panchen 123 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

Conclusions

Firstly we suggest that the most primitive plumage pattern occurs
at the centre of the aggregate range of Lophura leucomelanos and
L. nycthemera and that this pattern probably represents the ancestral
(plesiomorph) condition for both species. In the Kali Pheasant L.
leucomelanos (to the west of the Irrawaddy River) this pattern has
become disrupted and finally masked, leading to the plain-backed
specimens of the Himalaya, which may or may not have a white
terminal band to the feathers of the lower back and rump. In the Silver
Pheasant L. nycthemera (to the east of the Irrawaddy) two geographical
trends are apparent. Moving southwards from the region of the
Irrawaddy delta, the birds have an increasingly disrupted pattern,
whereas to the northeast they become increasingly white. Traces of
black are, however, never lost.

If we have established that the Irrawaddy is an effective barrier
between the two species, then the three subspecies oatesi, lineata and
crawfurdi are Silver Pheasants, not Kalij Pheasants as maintained by
Delacour, and are simply stages in a cline demonstrating increased
disruption of the pattern southwards.

The seven white subspecies of L. nycthemera included in our study
(L. n. rufipes, occidentalis, ripponi, jonesi, beaulieut, nycthemera and
fohkiensis) appear to us to form another cline, which, on current
evidence, does not merit separation into a series of distinct forms.

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Mr G. S. Cowles of the Sub-department of Ornithology, British
Museum (Natural History) at Tring for making specimens available to us and the
authorities of the Museum for access to the material and permission to reproduce Figs 2
and 3. Dr C. J. O. Harrison and Dr A. G. Knox provided valuable discussion. Mr B.
Allaker of the Department of Geography, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, gave us
help with maps and gazetteers.

References:

Ali, S. & Ripley, S. D. 1984. Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan, Compact
edition. Oxford Univ. Press.

Delacour, J. 1949. The genus Lophura. Ibis 91: 188-220.

Delacour, J. 1977. Pheasants of the World. 2nd edn. WPA and Spur Publications,
Hindhead.

Howard, R. P. & Moore, A. 1984. Checklist of the Birds of the World. Macmillan.

Johnsgard, P. A. 1986. Pheasants of the World. Oxford Univ. Press.

Monroe, B. L., Jr. & Browning, M. R. 1992. A re-analysis of Butorides. Bull. Brit. Orn.
Cl. 112: 81-85.

Sibley, C. G. & Monroe, B. L., Jr. 1990. Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World.
Yale Univ. Press.

Tan, Y.-L. & Wu, Z. 1981. A new subspecies of the Silver Pheasant from Guizhou,
China. Zool Res. 2: 301-305 [Chinese, English summary].

Addresses: P. J. K. McGowan, Department of Biology, The Open University, Walton
Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, U.K. A. L. Panchen, Department of Marine
Sciences and Coastal Management, Ridley Building, The University, Newcastle-
upon-Tyne NE1 7RU, U.K.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994

E. P. Toyne & M. T. Feffcote 124 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

Nesting records of Pzonus species in southern
Ecuador

by E. P. Toyne & M. T. Feffcote
Received § May 1993

The Blue-headed Parrot Pionus menstruus and Red-billed Parrot Pionus
sordidus are both wide-ranging neotropical parrots (Forshaw 1989). In
Ecuador P. menstruus is a common inhabitant of tropical forests up to
1100 m and is known throughout the entire east slope of the Andes,
but on the west slope only as far south as Manabi, northern Guayas
(R. Ridgely pers. comm.), with some records for El Oro province
(C. Rahbek pers. comm.). In Ecuador P. sordidus is also found on both
slopes of the Andes but occurs at higher altitudes than P. menstruus
(Ridgely 1981). It is known from 1200 to 2300 m (R. Ridgely pers.
comm.), but in Podocarpus National Park its range is between 950 and
2450 m (pers. obs., C. Rahbek pers. comm.). Within their respective
ranges in the park both species can be described as fairly common.

Despite their wide ranges, there is limited information on their
breeding biology. In this paper we summarise previous records and
present information on the nesting of these species on the east slope of
the Andes in Zamora-Chinchipe province in southern Ecuador. For a
description of the study area see Toyne et al. (1992), and for an account
of the area’s avifauna see Bloch ez al. (1991).

Blue-headed Parrot nest records

The Blue-headed Parrot breeds between January and April in
Panama (Wetmore 1968, Willis & Eisenmann 1979), western Colombia
(Hilty & Brown 1986) Venezuela (Cherrie 1916) and French Guiana
(Dick et al. 1984); in October in Surinam (Haverschmidt 1968); and in
both March and October in Trinidad (ffrench 1992). Paul Roth (in
Forshaw 1989) documents its nesting in northern Brazil during late
April through to September, with late nesting or re-nesting occurring
in December. On one occasion the previous nest of a White-eyed
Parakeet Avatinga leucophthalmus was used in the same year. In
captivity clutches are of two or three eggs (Ingels 1978).

Our nest was found by José Fernando Villa at Serrania (c. 04°02'S,
79°00'W) at 1400 m on 28 March 1992, when it contained two newly
hatched nestlings (no feather development, closed eyes). This location
is between E] Limén and Sabanilla (IGM 1981) on the edge of the
Loja-Zamora road, 4km north of the Podocarpus National Park
boundary. The record extends the known elevational range of this
species by 300m, from around 1100m to 1400 m. On 2 May, when
EPT visited the nest-site, one adult P. menstruus was observed circling
the site, constantly calling and occasionally settling on adjacent tree
tops. On inspection, the nest was empty; it was subsequently
discovered that it had been robbed by the local farmer the day before.
The farmer had cut the trunk to form steps up to the nest in the

E. P. Toyne & M. T. Feffcote 125 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

previous year when he also robbed the nest, which was an old
woodpecker’s hole in the trunk of a dead Cordia alliodora tree
(Boraginaceae). The limbless tree was 12 m tall, and the nest hole was
4 m from the ground and faced west. The tree’s diameter at nest height
was 11 cm and at breast height 18 cm. The diameter of the circular nest
entrance was 18 cm and the nest depth approximately 45 cm. The nest
was lined with wood shavings and some pale blue egg-shell remains
were visible. The nest tree was situated on a north-facing slope in the
middle of a grassy, cattle-grazed clearing. The nearest neighbouring
tree was 5 m away and tree density in the field was low, approximately
75 per hectare; all these were mature trees. The stumps of felled trees
covered the field. Tall mature trees grew on the banks of a river 40 m
away, and the forest-edge was approximately 400 m upslope of the nest
site.

The two nestlings (one male and one female; Rodrigo Tapia pers.
comm.) were found, on the same day, at the nearest farm. In captivity
they had been fed on maize so their weights (2260, $315 g) and other
biometrics (body length 2200, $215; tarsus 925.4, $25.3; wing 3110;
tail 950 mm (2 wing and tail cut) were not totally natural. When
questioned the farmer said that a pair of Blue-headed Parrots had used
the same nest last year and produced one nestling, which he took and
sold in Loja. This year’s nestlings would each be sold for approximately
$8 at the local town of either Loja or Zamora.

Breeding dates can be estimated from the approximate age of the
nestlings. Using Ingels’ (1978) data on incubation (24-29 days) and
fledging periods (55-60 days), we estimate the laying date to be within
the range 27 February to 3 March, with the young (if undisturbed)
leaving the nest around 22-27 May.

Red-billed Parrot nest records

The Red-billed Parrot nests in April, at the end of the dry season, in
north-central Venezuela (Schafer & Phelps, 1954, Forshaw 1989). In
Colombia a male was taken from a nesting hollow in April and birds
in breeding condition have been collected from February to April
(Hilty & Brown 1986). Near La Paz in northern Bolivia an occupied
nest was found in October in the hollow trunk of a tree, approximately
6 m from the ground (Niethammer 1953, Forshaw 1989). Breeding has
been recorded in captivity when a clutch of three was laid and the
young fledged when twelve weeks old (Stoodley 1978).

Our nest was found by MTJ on 3 May 1992 on the east slopes of the
Cordillera de Curintza (c. 04°08’S, 78°57'W) at an altitude of 1600 m.
This location is within the boundary of Podocarpus National Park. The
nest was in a hollow in a 4m tall, unidentifiable dead and rotten tree
stump (Toyne 1993). The entrance to the nest was on the top of the
stump and was 10cm wide. The hole gradually widened down to
the nest, and was approximately 1.5 m deep. This depth made removal
of the three nestlings virtually impossible, and it was not attempted.
The tree diameter at breast height was 20 cm.

The nest tree was located in a forest clearing of approximately 7 ha
that was used for cattle-grazing. It was quite exposed, with only a few

E. P. Toyne & M. T. Feffcote 126 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

other trees or dead stumps in the clearing and was 40m from the
nearest cover, which was mature forest growing along the quebrada
below the nest-site. There was also forest 200 m upslope of the nest
tree. Despite the site’s open aspect the presence of the nest was far from
obvious, as although the adults were conspicuous around the nest-site,
they visited the nest secretively, without calling.

The nestlings were not examined in the hand and only viewed from
the nest entrance with a torch. They appeared to be well developed and
slightly smaller than the adult birds. Using both Ingels’ (1978) and
Stoodley’s (1978) records of successful captive breeding of Pionus
species, the breeding dates at Curintza can be estimated. At nest
inspection the primary feathers were well developed and the nestlings
were an estimated 10 days from fledging, suggesting they were between
10 and 11 weeks old. Assuming an incubation period of 27 days and a
6-7 day laying period, laying would have started around 16 January.
Hatching was probably in the range 15-22 February, with the young
fledging 11-17 May.

Discussion

The fact that both nests were found in heavily degraded habitat with
very exposed aspects suggests that both species are adaptable in their
nesting habitat requirements, being able to utilise exposed nest holes
through either preference or necessity. Alternatively, it might be that
these were both traditional nest sites used before the forest was felled
and our nest records indicate the birds’ loyalty to them.

The Blue-headed Parrot is thought to be unusually adaptable in its
habitat requirements (Ridgely 1981), and our observations support this.
The species’ ability to exist in degraded habitat may be one reason for
its being one of the most numerous neotropical parrots (Ridgely 1981).
The Red-Billed Parrot has also been reported to exist in areas of
disturbed habitat, as in our case, but in Venezuela deforestation has
brought local declines (Forshaw 1989). It is not known whether it has
declined in Ecuador.

Although the breeding dates for the two nests are estimates, the
Red-billed Parrot certainly bred earlier than the Blue-headed Parrot;
but clearly one cannot draw general conclusions from these single cases.

Acknowledgements

This work is an output of the “Parrots in Peril’’ expedition to Ecuador in 1992 which
involved Rodrigo Tapia, Angel Hualpa, Arturo Gimenez, Jeremy Flanagan, Sachin
Kapila and Domitille Vallée, who provided help in fieldwork and companionship
throughout our visit. We are also indebted to José Fernando Villa, the Podocarpus
National Park warden who showed us the P. menstruus nest. We would also like to thank
the Ministerio de Agricultura and Ganaderia in Quito, Loja and Zamora for permission
to work in Ecuador; Corporaci6n Ornitol6gica del Ecuador (CECIA) and Arcoiris whose
members provided logistical help in the planning of our expedition; Nigel Collar and
Carsten Rahbek who kindly commented on a previous draft of this paper; Robert Ridgely
for the use of unpublished data; and lastly the following sponsors who made the
expedition possible: Imperial College Exploration Board, Royal Geographical Society,
British Ornithologists’ Union, Frederick Gregory Fund, Mount Everest Foundation and
Wildwings.

In Brief 127 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

References:

Bloch, H., Poulsen, M. K., Rahbek, C. & Rasmussen, J. F. 1991. A survey of the
montane forest avifauna of Loja Province, southern Ecuador. ICBP study report no.
49. Cambridge, U.K.

Cherrie, G. K. 1916. A contribution to the ornithology of the Orinoco region. Mus.
Brooklyn Inst. Arts Sct. Bull. 2: 133a—374.

Dick, J. A., McGillivray, W. B. & Brooks, D. J. 1984. A list of birds and their weights
from Satil, French Guiana. Wilson Bull. 96: 347-365.

ffrench, R. P. 1992. A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago, 2nd edn. Christopher
Helm (A. & C. Black).

Forshaw, J. M. 1989. Parrots of the World, 3rd edn. Blandford, Poole, U.K.

Haverschmidt, F. 1968. Birds of Surinam. Oliver & Boyd.

Hilty, S. L. & Brown, W. L. 1986. A Guide to the Birds of Colombia. Princeton Univ.
Press.

I.G.M. 1981. NVII-A2, Zamora, 3881-IV. 1:50 000. Instituto Geografico Militar, Quito,
Ecuador.

Ingels, J. 1978. Notes on the Pzonus parrots. Avicult. Mag. 84: 196-198.

Niethammer, G. 1953. Zur Vogelwelt Boliviens. Bonn. Zool. Beitr. 4: 195-303.

Ridgely, R. S. 1981. The current status and distribution of mainland neotropical parrots.
Pp. 233-384 in R. F. Pasquier (ed.), Conservation of New World Parrots. 1CBP Tech.
Publ. no. I, Cambridge, U.K.

Schaefer, E. & Phelps, W. H. 1954. Las aves del Parque Nacional ‘Henri Pitter’ (Rancho
Grande) y sus funciones ecolégicas, Bol. Soc. Venez. Ci. Nat. 16: 3-167.

Stoodley, A. A. J. 1978. The breeding of four species of Pionus. Avicult. Mag. 84: 62-64.

Toyne, E. P. 1993. Die Papageien im Podocarpus-Nationalpark, Sud-Ekuador.
Papageien 7: 220-227.

Toyne, E. P., Jeffcote, M. T. & Flanagan, J. N. 1992. Status, distribution and ecology of
the White-breasted Parakeet Pyrrhura albipectus in Podocarpus National Park,
southern Ecuador. Bird Conserv. Int. 2: 327-339.

Wetmore, A. 1968. The Birds of the Republic of Panama, Part 2. Columbidae (Pigeons) to
Picidae (Woodpeckers). Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington.

Willis, E. O. & Eisenmann, E. 1979. A revised list of birds of Barro Colorado Island,
Panama. Smiths. Contrib. Zool. 291: 1-31.

Address: E. P. Toyne, Department of Biology, Imperial College of Science, Technology
and Medicine, London SW7 2BB, U.K. M. T. Jeffcote, Environ, Western Park,
Parkfield, Hinckley Rd, Leicester LE3 6HX, U.K.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994

IN BRIEF

FIRST RECORD OF WHITE-WINGED NIGHTJAR CAPRIMULGUS
CANDICANS FOR BOLIVIA

A specimen of Caprimulgus candicans was collected on 11 September
1987, in Dpto. Beni, Prov. Yucuma, Bolivia, at the Estacion Bioldgica
del Beni (EBB) (14°38’S, 66°18’W), 210 m. It was captured by hand,
during daylight hours, in dry open savanna near Estancia El Provenir,
by a guide accompanying E. Flores. The specimen (Coleccién
Boliviana de Fauna, 0624) is a ¢ (left testis 6X 3.5mm, right
6 X 2mm) with no fat and skull 95% pneumaticized. It is similar in
size and appearance to previously published descriptions (Sclater
1866, Proc. Zool. Soc. London: 581-590; Hartert 1892, Catalogue

In Brief 128 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)
Birds Brit. Mus. XVI): wing 133 mm (5.25 in); tail 95 mm (3.75 in);

larger wing-coverts and inner secondaries white; primaries black,
white at base; third primary (from outside) longest; abdomen, under
wing coverts, outer rectrices (all but central pair in this specimen)
white. The specimen differs from published descriptions (Slater, loc.
cit; Hartert, Joc. cit.) in lacking ochraceous wash above and
ferruginous spots on scapulars; throat, sides of neck, and breast are
not chestnut, but brown spotted with buff; and rectrices are edged
brown rather than buff.

This rare nightjar is known from a few localities in central and
southern Brazil, with an unconfirmed record from Paraguay: Cuiaba,
Mato Grosso, mid-1820s; Emas National Park, Goids, 1980s—1990s;
Orissanga, Sao Paulo, 1823; and an unknown locality in Paraguay,
1700s (Collar et al. 1992, Threatened Birds of the Americas),. 'Two
specimens at Field Museum of Natural History tentatively identified as
C. candicans (Collar et al., loc. cit.) are in fact 2 Eleothreptus anomalus
(D. Stotz pers. comm.).

The only previously known locality for the species from this century
is Emas National Park, where it has been recorded from open grassland
habitats; the population is believed to number in the hundreds (Collar
et al., loc-cit.). Appropriate habitat is extremely limited in west-central
Brazil and C. candicans is seriously threatened by the destruction of its
remaining habitat (Collar et al., loc-cit.).

The Beni record represent a major western range extension of
approximately 1500km, and the morphological differences of the
specimen may indicate an undescribed form of C. candicans. Previous
efforts to survey the avifauna of the EBB have been relatively brief and
did not concentrate on nocturnal species. Furthermore, identification
of C. candicans in surveys of appropriate habitat is hindered because
its vocalizations are unknown (Collar et al., loc-cit.). A serious effort
should be made to determine if there are viable populations of C.
candicans in Bolivia.

We thank Doug A. Stotz for confirming the identification of the specimen. We
acknowledge Jaime Sarmiento and Omar Rocha, of the Museo Nacional de Historia
Natural, La Paz, for access to the Coleccion Boliviana de Fauna.

Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kemff Mercado SUSAN E. DAVIS
Universidad Autonoma Gabriel Rene Moreno,

Casilla 702, Santa Cruz,

Bolivia.
Casilla 499, La Paz, ELIANA FLORES
Bolivia. 18 May 1993

FIRST RECORD OF THE DUNLIN FROM THE PHILIPPINES
The Dunlin Calidris alpina is a rare vagrant to New Zealand (Falla
et al. 1981, Hayman et al. 1988), Australia (Simpson & Day 1984,
Hayman et al. 1988), Timor (doubtful) (White & Bruce 1986), Hawaii,
Palau, Marianas, Pohnpei and Wake (Pratt et al. 1987). It is a common

In Brief 129 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

winter visitor in Japan (Wild Bird Society of Japan 1983), and winters
also in southeastern China (Mayer de Schauensee 1984). From the
Philippines only one record of the Dunlin has been reported so far, a
skin from Palawan (McClure & Leelavit 1972); but recently it was
re-identified as a Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea (Dickinson et al.
1991):

On 1 March 1988, Peter Sunesen and Ulla Rydmann found a dead
Dunlin on a tidal flat near Aparri on the north coast of the island of
Luzon. The bird was intact and not decomposed; its weight was 61 g.
The preserved skin is now in Taps Old Rectory #4979, 9 ad, ovary
5.1 mm X 2.9mm, oviduct sinuous and 1.4mm wide. Its stomach
contained only a small amount of grit and residues of gastropod shells.
Some body feathers were in moult. It was generally in winter plumage,
in appearance like number j on plate 84 in Hayman et al. (1988) except
for no reddish-brown on the upperparts, more distinct streaking on the
lower neck and upper breast, and a few blackish feathers on the lower
breast. Its measurements were: exposed culmen 36.9 mm, wing (chord
flattened) 117.3mm, femur 23.0mm, humerus 30.9. From the

- measurements it is not possible to come to any conclusion about the

race of this specimen (MacLean & Holmes 1971, Greenwood 1986,
Browning 1991).

I am sincerely grateful to Mr Peter Sunesen, Copenhagen, who gave me the frozen
Dunlin and permitted me to publish this first record for the Philippines. I should also like
to acknowledge Dr Kenneth C. Parkes and Dr Anders Pape Moller for reading through
and making valuable comments on the draft.

References:

Browning, M. R. 1991. Taxonomic comments on the Dunlin Calidris alpina from
northern Alaska and eastern Siberia. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 111: 140-145.

Dickinson, E. C., Kennedy, R. & Parkes, K. C. 1991. The Birds of the Philippines.
B.O.U. Check-list no. 12.

Falla, R. A., Sibson, R. B. & Turbott, E. G. 1981. The New Guide to the Birds of New
Zealand. Collins.

Greenwood, J. G. 1986. Geographical variation and taxonomy of the Dunlin Calidris
alpina (L.). Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 106: 43-56.

Hayman, P., Marchant, J. & Prater, T. 1988. Shorebirds. An identification guide to the
waders of the world. Helm.

McClure, H. E. & Leelavit, P. 1972. Birds banded in Asia during the MAPS Program, by
locality, from 1963 through 1971. U.S. Army Research and Development Group, Far
East, Report FE-315-7.

MacLean, S. F. & Holmes, R. T. 1971. Bill lengths, wintering areas, and taxonomy of
North American Dunlins, Calidris alpina. Auk 88: 893-901.

Meyer de Schauensee, R. 1984. The Birds of China. Oxford Univ. Press.

Pratt, H. D., Bruner, P. L. & Berrett, D. G. 1987. The Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical
Pacific. Princeton Univ. Press.

Simpson, K. & Day, N. 1984. The Birds of Australia. Lloyd O’Neil Pty Ltd.

White, C. M. N. & Bruce, M. D. 1986. The Birds of Wallacea. B. O. U. Check-list no. 7.

Wild Bird Society of Japan, 1983. A Field Guide to the Birds of Japan. Wild Bird Soc. of
Japan.

Taps Old Rectory JOHANNES ERRITZOE
DK-6070 Christiansfeld,
Denmark. 12 June 1993

In Brief 130 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

BLACK-NAPED TERN STERNA SUMATRANA IN MADAGASCAR

The Black-naped Sterna sumatrana breeds from Aldabra atoll in the
western Indian ocean to Samoa in the Pacific (Harrison 1983). In the
western half of the Indian Ocean, it has bred on several islands in
the Seychelles archipelago, including Aldabra (up to 70 pairs, the
largest concentration in the Seychelles) and Farquhar (Feare 1984,
Stoddart 1984). There are approximately ten records from the African
mainland, mostly cyclone-blown individuals on the coast of the
Mozambique channel, in the period January—April (Ginn et al. 1989).
There are no published records of the species from either Madagascar
or the Comoro islands (contra Harrison 1983; Louette 1988, Langrand
1990) although Louette (1988) speculates that they must occur as they
breed as close to the Comores as Aldabra, and Langrand (1990)
included the species as one that was likely to occur.

With this in mind it is perhaps fitting that I observed a single adult
Black-naped Tern at Sedradroa, 10 km north of Maroalika, Mahajanga
province, Madagascar (45°10’E, 15°58'S) on 4 February 1993. It was
with a group of other terns including Lesser-crested Terns Sterna
bengalensis, roosting on the beach, where I observed it at a range of
10m. A few days earlier, a tropical depression had passed the region
from the north; it seems likely that the Black-naped ‘Tern had been
blown in on the accompanying winds. The bird was highly distinctive,
being of medium size (for a tern; about the same size or slightly smaller
than a Common Tern Sterna hirundo) and completely white save a pale
grey wash over the mantle and wings, a very pale pink wash on the
breast and a black line from the bill around the back of the neck.

References:

Feare, C. J. 1984. Seabird status and conservation in the tropical Indian ocean.
Pp. 457-471 in J. P. Croxall, P. G. H. Evans & R. W. Schreiber (eds), Status and
Conservation of the World’s Seabirds,. 1CBP technical publication 2.

Ginn, P. J., McIlheron, W. G. & Milstein, P. le S. 1989. The Complete Book of African
Birds. Struik Winchester, Cape Town.

Harrison, P. 1983. Seabirds, an identification guide. Croom Helm.

Langrand, O. 1990. Guide to the Birds of Madagascar. Yale Univ. Press.

Louette, M. 1988. Les Oiseaux de Comores. Annales du Musée Royal de |’ Afrique
Centrale, Tervuren. Serie IN-8 Sciences Zoologiques No. 255.

Stoddart, D. R. (ed.) 1984, Biogeography and Ecology of the Seychelles Islands. W. Junk,
The Hague.

10 Lodway Gardens, FRANK HAWKINS
Pill,

Bristol BS20 ODL,

WRK: 22 June 1993

AGAIN: THE ENGLISH NAME OF GALLICOLUMBA STAIRII

The English name of the ground-dove Gallicolumba stairii has been
discussed controversially, whenever it has been mentioned in recent
times. Even authors, who probably have never seen this bird in the

In Brief 131 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

wild, feel obliged to comment on the assumed inappropriateness of its

name (cf. Bailey 1992, Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 112: 275-276).

Gallicolumba stairii apparently is a shy and wary species, wherever
recent authors, and these are not many, have seen these birds. The
locations were usually remote areas of inhabited islands which are
infested with cats and, in case of the large Fiji islands, with mongooses.

My studies in Tonga, and the distribution pattern of ground-doves
in French Polynesia, provide clear evidence that ground-doves and
introduced mammalian predators, including humans, do not coexist
on any island. All three species (G. stairii, G. erythroptera and
G. rubescens) are now restricted to very few islands. And these refuges
of ground-doves in Polynesia have been visited by few biologists.

Thus, it has escaped the attention of the ornithological community
that G. stairi in its natural state is extraordinarily abundant, and an
extremely confiding, a truly friendly species (Rinke 1991, Notornis 38:
151-171). I had similar experiences with the species on all the other
islands in Tonga where it has survived (Rinke, in prep.).

Its timidity on inhabited islands is just an observer’s impression
when experiencing the difficulties of locating the species, which
survives in low numbers only in the remotest areas on such islands. Its
true nature, which it shows in a “friendly environment’’, is friendliness.
And this is the main reason why it has been hunted to extinction on so
many islands, either by humans or by introduced predators.

I propose that the name ‘Friendly Ground-dove’’ should be
retained, because this name is very descriptive, it refers to the origin of
the type specimen of the species, and it has been widely used in the
literature. The proposed name “Shy Ground-dove’’ would only create
confusion, apart from its inappropriateness.

Brehm Fund South Seas Expedition, DIETER R. RINKE
Private Bag 52,

Nukuw alofa,

Kingdom of Tonga. 24 June 1993

OBSERVATIONS AT A NEST OF THE PACIFIC ROYAL FLYCATCHER
ON YCHORHYNCHUS CORONATUS OCCIDENTALIS

The Royal Flycatcher Onychorhynchus coronatus is a widely distributed
species found from Mexico to Bolivia. The isolated, subspecifically
distinct population found on the Pacific side of Ecuador and
immediately adjacent northwestern Peru was originally described as a
distinct species, Onychorhynchus occidentalis Sclater, 1860. It is known
from only a few localities, in low-lying humid forest. During survey
work carried out in January 1992 around the village of San Miguel del
Azuay (c. 2°48’S, 79°30’'W) on the Pacific slope of Azuay province,
Ecuador, a pair of Royal Flycatchers was observed displaying and
nest-building. What follows appears to represent the first documented
description of the nest of O. c. occidentalis. The sighting itself is also
significant, being the highest altitude (c. 900 m) at which this species

In Brief 132 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

has been recorded, and the first documented record for the province
(published in outline in Collar et al. 1992, Threatened Birds of the
Americas).

The birds were observed for Herorinn ately, one hour, displaying and
continuing to build a half-constructed nest. The nest was roughly 200 m
from the edge of the village of San Miguel del Azuay, overhanging a
small stream on the edge of primary forest, only 30 m from a regular
crossing place used by local villagers. It was suspended 5 m above the
water from the outer branches of a 20—25 m tall tree, being easily visible
and unprotected by any vegetation. The nest itself was about 1 m long
and made of loosely interwoven twigs (mostly 10—20 cm long), giving it
an untidy appearance. The side etrance was only partiaily constructed.
The nest and its site were typical of the species (Hilty & Brown 1986, A
Guide to the Birds of Colombia). The only nest of the species which I have
seen elsewhere (O. c. coronatus in Mexico 1991) was also in an open
position and unprotected by vegetation.

During the hour-long observations, the female spent most of the time
sitting in the nest, weaving new twigs into the structure. Occasionally
she left the nest for a few minutes, returning with more twigs. The male
was not observed helping with nest-building, but on several occasions
was observed displaying to her. He would fly towards and around her,
occasionally raising and lowering his crest, and sometimes hovering for
very short periods in front of her. He would then return to perch on a
nearby branch. Each period of display lasted for less than 30 seconds.

The area surrounding San Miguel del Azuay was surveyed for a week
but only one pair of Royal Flycatchers was encountered. The
subspecies is rare at other known sites (Collar et al., loc. cit.),
suggesting it is a low-density species. The low-lying humid forest to
which it is confined now exists only in small isolated patches. O. c.
occidentalis is therefore given the classification “‘Endangered”’ in the
Red Data Book for the Americas (Collar et al. 1992, loc. cit.).

This discovery would not have been possible without funding for the survey work which
came principally from Birdlife International, the British Ecological Society, the
University of East Anglia and the Royal Geographical Society. Many thanks for helpful
comments on this paper from Dr Robert Ridgely, Dr Nigel Collar, David Wege and
Brinley Best.

Ecology Centre, The Science Complex, M. J. WHITTINGHAM
University of Sunderland,
Sunderland SR1 3SD, U.K. 7 July 1993

MEASUREMENTS OF DIOMEDEA EXULANS ANTIPODENSIS AND
D. E. GIBSONI

The detailed standard measurements supporting the erection of these
two subspecies of the Wandering Albatross (Robertson & Warham
1992. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 112: 74-81) were deliberately omitted from
that paper as they were due to be published in a more general paper on
the Wandering Albatrosses of Australia and New Zealand. Due to the

Bull. B.O.C. 1994. 114(2)

3

ioe)

In Brief

[st] V+ E'6S1
lol] 797 FT LIL
[9] LO LOLI
[8] 0S'7 F9'9LT

[st] ShO + +8'S
Lol] +8°0 F9F'L
[9] €0 1 = 29'S
[3] 080 F9E'L

[9] OLE FSLSI
[sl] ILE FSL9I

[e] 79°0 FOOL'S
[7] €S 0 #88°9
[s] 190 FZL‘L

let] O6°€ FU LSI
[el] Th + FH SOL
[ot] ES FOCI

[11] 6g OF ES'S
[et] 09°0 # $9°9

[StI ZVUZFHELL
[ol] OVE FL OL
[9] +r € F L801
[g] oF € FOOLT
[6] 806 +9 E11

[9] 067 FO'ETI
[s] 99°€ FO'SII

[It] IL FFL TI

[et] 9V ZFS IIL
[et] 977 FOOL
[ol] STHFLSI

[St] €+2 F061
lor] o¢ 9 + 161
[9] 69°9 + 661
[g] 40° # £07
[6] 8+°9 + £61

[9] s8°S L6I
[Ss] 6b € # LOZ
[6] 06°+ + +61
[s] 7h L F 681

[et] 0€ 9 + £61
[et] 95°9 + 007

[st] 088 +£€+9
lol] 08'2+4+99
[s] 01:9 # S79
[g] Ol 81 #SS9
[s] 086 #ZS9

[9] 08 LI #0S9
[Ss] OL'ST #299
[6] O€ TI #LS9
[+] 08ST # S+9

[11] 0771 F O+F9
[11] 06°01 +099
[91] 0O' 11 # S+9

[09] L6°€ FL E+
[+S] CP + FO IST I
[9] 86+ 40861 q
[3] 8¢°7 F V'8tl W y
[6] +99 + 0'9+1 ARIA ‘3
ANVTSI SAA OdILLNV

ul
W ;
J

[11] lo CFL ++ A J
[gs] I7+ +081 W ‘J
[6] LVS FETS ARIN -)
[S] 96S FSSHI ARIA ‘Pp
ANVTSI TTAIAN VO
[ell OL +b Fr OF A eo)
[el] 9¢°€ FLOST W im)
[91] 96'+ #8°StI ART “q

CSI GNVTNOAP) ANVTSI SWE aGY

[rp] €2°0 # Shs [pr] €E9CTFTLSI [+] 90°F #9 OI [tb] 9S°€ F LSI [+] 09°71 F8E9 [el] SLb FL 9+ ad a

[ge] 9€ TFLE'L [€] 618 #0991 [ge] LS FOIL Le] 00'S ¥ Sol [¢] 06°7 #EL9 [st] 99 € FZ EST W e
CST GNVTMYONP) GNVTSI LNANLNIOddrSIG

(331) 14319 A MED 2 901-Plfl SNnsiv T, [IR SUI Yasue], ueswpNg X9G a10N

(SO1ONT ul suorejouur OF IFO) “SUOTIBOO] SuIpso1g pueleaZ Many WoOTs SOSSOTRe [VW SULIOpUR A JO SJUDWIDINSBITU prbpuryg

| WTavib

Books Received 134 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

delay of this publication it seems prudent to present the material,
identifiable to the breeding locations of these taxa referred to in
Robertson & Warham (1992), in its own right.

Because the measurements, from both live birds and museum
specimens, have been provided by a number of persons these are
recorded separately and annotated with the type of specimen in the
following notes which accompany ‘Table 1. The authors wish to thank
and acknowledge those persons other than themselves who provided
material for this compilation.

NOTES. All measurements are in millimetres or kilogrammes as
means +158.D.; sample sizes are in square brackets. (a) live birds
measured by C. J. R. Robertson (CJRR). (b) live birds measured by
B. D. Bell, R. Russ and CJRR. (c) live birds measured by CJRR. (d)
skins measured by CJRR (Vienna, British Museum (BMNH), National
Museum of NZ (NMNZ)). (e) live birds measured by various
Campbell Is. meteorological station staff. (f) live birds measured by
CJRR. (g) skins measured by CJRR (Vienna, BMNH, American
Museum of Natural History, NMNZ). (h) live birds measured by John
Warham. (1) live birds measured by CJRR.

Science & Research Division, C. J. R. ROBERTSON
Dept. of Conservation,

P.O. Box 10-420, Wellington,

New Zealand.

Zoology Dept., JOHN WARHAM
University of Canterbury,

Christchurch 1,

New Zealand. 15 November 1993

BOOKS RECEIVED

Madge, S. & Burn, H. (no date) Crows and Jays: a guide to the crows, jays and magpies of
the world. Pp. xxiiit191. 30 colour plates, distribution maps, text-figs. Christopher
Helm/A. & C. Black. ISBN 0-7136-3999-7. £25.95. 24 x 16 cm.

An excellent addition to the recent series of guides to bird families, covering what
most ornithologists regard as the Corvidae but which 1s here treated as the tribe Corvini,
with strange tribal bedfellows such as wood-swallows and Old World orioles, within the
subfamily Corvinae, in a vastly expanded family Corvidae. This premature acceptance of
Sibley’s revolutionary reclassification, which will surely be subject to modification in the
future, does not detract from a very sound text, the greater part of which consists of a
systematic section with species dealt with under standard headings, accompanied by
distribution maps of all species and an outstanding series of colour plates by Hilary Burn,
far the best—and the only comprehensive—collection of illustrations of the Corvidae
within the covers of a single book.

Clement, P., Harris, A. & Davis, J. 1993. Finches & Sparrows: an identification guide.
Pp. ix+500. 73 colour plates, maps, text-figs. Christopher Helm/A. & C. Black.
ISBN 0-7136-8017-2. £29.99. 24 x 16 cm.

Yet another good guide to a section of the world’s birds, comprising (in conventional
classification) the Fringillidae, Estrildidae and Passeridae. Similar in lay-out to Crows and

Jays, the colour plates are placed together in a block before the main text, and have on the

Books Received 135 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

facing page distribution maps of the species illustrated, brief statements of the range, and
diagnostic plumage characters. The systematic text is subdivided into standard sections
and accompanied, where helpful, with black-and-white drawings aiding identification. In
spite of the subtitle this book is more than an identification guide, as there is a mass of
condensed information on the species’ natural history. The colour plates, by Alan Harris
and John Davis, are excellent.

Gosler, A. 1993. The Great Tit. Pp.128, numerous illustrations in colour and
black-and-white. Hamlyn. ISBN 0-600-57950-6. £9.99. 21 x 14 cm.

It may be invidious to select for review one of the (to date) six books that have
appeared in the series of ‘Hamlyn species guides’, all of which are good; but Andy
Gosler’s book is very good indeed, partly because it is clearly and engagingly written,
partly because so many interesting and biologically significant things can be said about
the best studied bird in the world. In deciding on 128-page books (as they all are) with
abundant illustrations, the publishers (series editor, David Christie) have, it seems, got it
exactly right. Much longer species monographs, with full statistical data, must appeal
mainly to the more academic ornithologists engaged in research on the biology of the
same or related species; much shorter books are in danger of being unsatisfactorily
superficial. These species guides give everything that non-specialist readers will want to
know, with references for those who may wish to pursue matters further. The other four
in the series so far are: The Common Tern, by R. Hume; The Fieldfare, by D. Norman;
The Barn Owl, by C. Shawyer; The Kestrel, by M. Shrubb; The Swallow, by A. K.

Turner.

Erritzoe, J. 1993. The Birds of CITES and How to Identify Them. Pp. xxii+199, 85 colour
plates, text-figures, map. Lutterworth Press. ISBN 0-7188-28917. £30.00. 30 x 21 cm.
For anyone concerned with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered

Species (CITES), who has not got easy access to a comprehensive ornithological library,
this will be an essential work of reference. Johannes Erritzoe and his wife Helga Boullet
Erritzoe have illustrated in colour all the 406 bird species listed in the CITES
appendices, and the accompanying text gives concise descriptions; plates and text
together should make it possible for anyone, however inexpert, to make correct
identifications. Appendices include the text of CITES, and a glossary of technical and
other relevant terms in English, French, German and Spanish. For those seeking further
information on any species there is a reference list of 432 publications.

This book is produced in a hardback and a ringbound edition. It is available direct
from the Lutterworth Press (hardback £30, ringbound £26), P.O. Box 60, Cambridge
CB1 2NT. It is intended that supplements will be issued every two years so that the
ringbound edition can be updated.

We have been sent the following review of a book which, though not received by us,
should be of interest to many of our members.

Ralph, R. 1993. William MacGillivray. Pp. 95, 32 colour plates, 37 black-and-white
illustrations. London: HMSO (Natural History Museum). ISBN 0-11-310043-4. £25.

I was an undergraduate of Aberdeen University Zoology Department yet was
ignorant of the former Regius Professor, William MacGillivray, until advised by
Ratcliffe (The Cairngorms, Nethersole-Thompson & Watson 1974, p. 75) to read The
Natural History of Dee Side and Braemar. MacGillivray completed that work almost
one and a half centuries ago yet it remains inspirational, his field experiences seeming
as fresh today as then. I was impressed by three aspects. Firstly, that much of
MacGillivray’s broad-based knowledge was ‘first-hand’, and he viewed organisms as
interacting within the environment—he was a field ecologist. Secondly, that his
descriptions are remarkably accurate; so accurate that the reader, confronted with the
rocks of the Grampians, can retrace MacGillivray’s route, making similar observations
and, on mountain ledges, probably seeing the same plants. Thirdly, that he was highly
motivated, worked very hard and enjoyed a long walk.

Now that I have read Robert Ralph’s book, I am substantially more impressed with
MacGillivray’s achievements. The book draws together much, if not all, of what is known
of him. It is quite short and very easy to read, the story so intriguing that I read most of
it at one go. Ralph’s text skilfully interweaves the biography with quotation and example,

Books Received 136 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(2)

so the book contains plenty of MacGillivray’s work. The text includes some lengthy
quotations from his writings and is well illustrated with his black-and-white sketches and
plates. There is a bibliography of his publications and 32 colour plates of a selection of
watercolour paintings, most of them previously unpublished. MacGillivray was an
excellent artist, the accuracy of posture and detail in his studies a further testimony to his
combined field and laboratory skills. Ralph lists Plate XX as ‘Goldsinny wrasse,
Ctenolabrus rupestris (Labrus of MacGillivray)’, yet the head shape and lack of dorsal fin
spot suggest it is a brown Ballan wrasse Labrus bergylta. A count of the dorsal fin rays and
the scales along the lateral line confirms MacGillivray’s Labrus identification, and
demonstrates his attention to detail. This was the only ‘error’ I could find in the book.

One striking aspect stems from the book’s vivid portrayal of science in the mid 19th
century, which inevitably demands comparison with today. The accurate works of
MacGillivray depict familiar scenes; the plants and animals are as we might see them
now. Ralph’s text tells of acrimony within the politics of science, the human frailties, the
interaction of personalities that dominated the academic scene then, ultimately to
MacGillivray’s disadvantage. Such scenes are likewise not uncommon now. In contrast
the lifestyles of scientists and the equipment at their disposal have changed dramatically.
There is no doubt that over the last 150 years there have been huge advances in the
understanding of ecological pattern and process, but much of the backdrop evidently
remains the same.

I strongly recommend this book; it is a good read, enjoyable and thought provoking.
Ralph aspires to kindle popular interest in William MacGillivray. I think with this book
he may well do so. I, for one, will take the bibliography and avidly explore further.

Mick MarqQuiss

NOTICE TO CONTRIBUTORS

Papers, from Club Members or non-members, should be sent to the Editor, Dr
D. W. Snow, The Old Forge, Wingrave, Aylesbury, Bucks HP22 4PD, U.K., and
must be offered solely to the Bulletin. They should be typed on one side of the
paper, with treble-spacing and a wide margin, and submitted in duplicate. The
style and lay-out should conform with usage in this or recent issues of the Bulletin.

A contributor is entitled to 10 free offprints of the pages of the Bulletin in which his
contribution, if one page or more in length, appears. Additional offprints or offprints of
contributions of less than one page may be ordered when the manuscript is submitted and
will be charged for. Authors may be charged for proof corrections for which they are
responsible.

BACK NUMBERS OF THE BULLETIN

Available on application to the Hon. Treasurer, as below (Vol. 93 onwards, 4
issues per year; Vols. 89—92, 6 issues per year; Vols. 88 and earlier, generally 9
issues per year): 1993 and after (Vols. 113 onwards) £4.50 each issue; 1983-92
(Vols. 103-112) £4 each issue; 1981-2 (Vols. 101 & 102) £3.50 each issue; 1980
(Vol. 100) No. 1 £4.50, Nos. 2,3 & 4 £2.50 each issue; 1973-9 (Vols. 93-99) £2.50
each issue; 1969-72 (Vols. 89-92) £2 each issue; 1929-68 (Vols. 50—88) £1.20 each
issue; Vol. 49 and before £2.50 each issue.

Indices: Vol. 112 and after £2.00; Vols. 70-111 £1.50 each; Vols. 50-69 £2.50
each; Vol. 49 and before £6 each.

Long runs (10 years or more) for Vol. 50 and after are available at reduced rates
on enquiry. Postage and packing extra. Orders over £50 post free. Special issue
Vol. 112A, 1992, in hardback, 300p, £32, inc. p&p.

MEMBERSHIP
Only Members of the British Ornithologists’ Union are eligible to join the
Club; applications should be sent to the Hon. Treasurer, as below, together with
the annual subscription (£8.50 or, if preferred, U.S. $22 for 1994, postage and
index free). Changes of address and any correspondence concerning membership
should be addressed to the Hon. Treasurer.

SUBSCRIPTION TO THE BULLETIN
The Bulletin (Vol. 114 onwards) may be purchased by non-members on pay-
ment of the annual subscription (£20 or, if preferred, U.S. $40 for 1994, postage
and index free). Applications should be sent to the Hon. Treasurer. Single issues
may be obtained as back numbers.

PAYMENTS TO HON. TREASURER

Payments should be sent to the Hon. Treasurer, S.J. Farnsworth, Hammerkop,
Frogmill, Hurley, Maidenhead, Berks SL6 5NL, U.K., or credited direct to the
Club’s bank account—No. 10211540, Sort Code 2000 87, at Barclays Prime
Account, Dale House, Wavertree Boulevard, Liverpool L7 9PQ, U.K., with
confirmation to the Hon. Treasurer. All payments are net and should be in
Sterling if possible. Payment in other currencies must include a further £4 for
U.K. Bank Charges (except for annual rates in U.S. Dollars which are inclusive).

CORRESPONDENCE
Correspondence about Club Meetings and on all other matters should go to
the Hon. Secretary, Mrs A. M. Moore, 1 Uppingham Road, Oakham, Rutland
LE15 6JB, U.K.

CONTENTS

CLUB NOTICES (osc oi ads ainle ocho plana ete Sue ele bier ote a ene ae ee ea 65
POTAPOV,E.R. Birds of the Lower Kolyma River, northeast Siberia 66
DAVIS, S. E., ROCHO O., O., SARMIENTO, J. & HANAGARTH, w. New

departmental records and notes for some Bolivian birds ...... 7a
CLANCEY, P. A. An additional subspecies of the Croaking Cisticola
from the temperate uplands of southern Africa.............. 86
GAITHER, JR, J.C. Weights of Bornean understory birds .......... 89
RYALL, C. Recent extensions of range in the House Crow Corvus
Splendens. ... wsik ede sa vere ae LS Sele 90
RENJIFOM.,L.M. First records of the Bay-vented Cotinga Doliornis
sclatert in Colombia. 0: 0 sjce0e ook Sond. 2 ee 101

MARTIN, C. G. C., UNDERHILL, G. D. & UNDERHILL, L. G. Garden
Warblers Sylvia borin in the southwestern Cape Province,

South Africa: yo Sale ek ae ee ee eee 104

LEE, P. G. & KANG, N. The reproductive strategies of edible-nest
swittlets((Aerodramus spp.) ..+. 55... + =a eee 106

McGOWAN, P. J. K. & PANCHEN, A. L. Plumage variation and geo-
graphical distribution in the Kalij and Silver Pheasants....... 1

TOYNE, E. P. & JEFFCOTE, M.T. Nesting records of Pionus species in
southern'Ecuador 6 2'i)3003. e822 eke Ok ce eee 124

In Brief DAVIS, S. E. & FLORES, E. First Record of White-winged
Nightjar Caprimulgus candicans for Bolivia ........ 12%

ERRITZOE, J. First record of the Dunlin from the
Philippines 00.225). G2 ee 128

HAWKINS, F. Black-naped Tern Sterna sumatrana in
Madagascar 75000. a ees od nO 130

RINKE, D. R. Again: the English name of Gallicolumba
SEQIUVAD sa EN co eT SIAC GEA Si A Ua Stes a er 130

WHITTINGHAM, M.J. Observations at a nest of the Pacific
Royal Flycatcher Onychorhynchus coronatus

OCCIAENTALIS. 2 OR 131
ROBERTSON, C. J. R. & WARHAM, J. Measurements of
Diomedea exulans antipodensis and D.e.gibsoni ..... 132
Books Received 23 20085 Oe a ole Sond ee eee 134

The Bulletin is despatched from the printers on publication and is sent by Surface Saver Postal
Services to all European destinations outside the U.K. and by Air Saver Postal Services to
destinations outside Europe. Those whose subscriptions have not been received by the begin-
ning of a month of publication will have their copies despatched by surface mail, after their
current subscription has been paid.

COMMITTEE
D. Griffin (Chairman) (1993) Revd T. W. Gladwin (Vice-Chairman) (1993)
Dr D. W. Snow (Editor) (1991) S.J. Farnsworth ( Treasurer) (1990)
Mrs A. M. Moore (Hon. Secretary) (1989) Miss H. Baker (1994)
Dr J. F. Monk (1991) Dr R. A. Cheke (1991)

R.E. F. Peal (1993)

Printed on acid-free paper.

Published by the BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB and printed by
Henry Ling Ltd., at the Dorset Press, Dorchester, Dorset

DL
6 T |
OS6
Bie

ISSN 0007-1595
Bulletin of the

British Ornithologists’ Club

Edited by
Dr D. W. SNOW

Volume114 No.3 September 1994

FORTHCOMING MEETINGS

Tuesday, 4 October 1994. Mr Tom Gullick will introduce Mr
Rafael Hiraldo, who will speak on Lammersgeier in the Pyrenees—
Past, Present and Future. Since 1970 Rafael Heredia has been monitor-
ing Lammergeier in the Pyrenees. This work began as a personal venture,
subsequently backed by WWF, the Belgium Institute for the Protection
of Raptors, and now funded by the Spanish Government Conservation
Agency.

Members wishing to attend are asked to notify the Hon. Secretary by
Tuesday, 20 September 1994*.

Tuesday, 8 November 1994. The Vice-Chairman, The Reverend
Tom Gladwin, is the speaker. His talk has the title ‘““Appalachian
Journeys’’, in which he describes the natural history of the Appalachian
Mountains in all seasons. Mr Gladwin is a wildlife consultant who has
travelled extensively in North America. He was closely associated with
the setting up of the Hertfordshire Trust for Nature Conservation.

Members wishing to attend are asked to notify the Hon. Secretary by
Tuesday, 25 October 1994*.

- Tuesday, 6 December 1994. Mr Michael Walters will speak on
“The History of Ornithology”. Mr Walters has been at The Natural
History Museum, at Tring, for the past 20 years. He is one of the Curators
of the Bird Group and has particular responsibility for the Egg and Type
Collections. He has published many papers on divers taxonomic and egg
issues.

Members wishing to attend are asked to notify the Hon. Secretary by
Tuesday, 22 November 1994*.

Tuesday, 17 January 1995. Dr David T. Parkin will speak on
“Recent Developments in the Forensic Investigation of Birds of
Prey”.

Tuesday, 21 March 1995. Dr Ian Newton F.R:S. will speak on ““The
Year of the Sparrowhawk’.

Meetings are held in the Sherfield Building of Imperial College, South
Kensington, London at 6.15 p.m. for 7 p.m. A map showing Imperial
College will be sent to members on request.

Overseas Members visiting Britain are particularly welcome at
meetings—details of which can be obtained from the Hon. Secretary, 1
Uppingham Road, Oakham, Rutland LE156JB. Telephone (0572)
722788.

*Late acceptances and cancellations can usually be taken up to the
weekend preceding a meeting, although members are asked to accept by
14 days beforehand as arrangements for meetings have to be confirmed
with Imperial College well in advance.

137 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

Bulletin of the
BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB

Vol. 114 No. 3 Published: 30 September 1994

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The Annual General Meeting of the British Ornithologists’ Club was
held in the Ante-room of the Sherfield Building, Imperial College,
London SW7 on Tuesday 24 May 1994 at 6 p.m. Mr D. Griffin was in the
Chair. 16 members were present.

The Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 18 May 1993,
which had been published (Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 113: 129-130), were
approved and signed by the Chairman.

The Report of the Committee for 1993, which had been published
in the Bulletin, was presented and on the proposal of the Honorary
Secretary, seconded by the Honorary Treasurer, it was unanimously
received and adopted.

The Accounts for 1993 were presented to the meeting. The Honorary
Treasurer said that the whole of the Herbert Stevens Fund is now
invested with NCL, a firm of fund managers chosen by the Trustees. The
Honorary Treasurer proposed, seconded by the Honorary Secretary, that
the accounts for 1993 should be adopted. This was carried unanimously.
The thanks of the members of the Club to the Trustees of the Herbert
Stevens Fund were recorded.

The Editor said that there had been very little change in the intake of
papers in 1993, and the publication delay has returned to about one year.
He said that of the many books received for review it was possible, for
reasons of space, to publish reviews of only a few, and the practice would
be, as in the past, to restrict reviews mainly to works of faunistic or
taxonomic interest.

There being no additional nominations, the following were declared
elected:

Hon. Secretary: Mrs A. M. Moore (re-elected)

Hon. Treasurer: S. J. Farnsworth (re-elected)

Committee: Miss H. Baker (vice Cdr M. B. Casement who retired by
rotation and was ineligible for re-election).

The Chairman expressed his appreciation of the work of the Officers
and Committee during the year and he particularly thanked Mr Ron
Kettle and Mr Pat Sellars for organising the projector and sound
equipment at meetings.

No other business had been notified in accordance with Rule 12.

The meeting closed at 6.18 p.m.

Meetings 138 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

The eight hundred and thirty-seventh meeting of the Club was held in the Senior Common
Room of the Sherfield Building, Imperial College, South Kensington, on Tuesday 22
February 1994 at 6.16 p.m. 33 Members and 28 Guests attended.

Members attending were: D. GRIFFIN (Chairman), M. W. Woopcock (Speaker), M. A.
Apcock, Miss H. Baker, P. J. BELMAN, P. J. BuLL, D. R. CaLper, Cdr M. B. CASEMENT RN
Retd, Professor R. J. CHANDLER, Dr R. A. CHEKE, C. A. R. HELM, K. W. HENSCHALL, R. H.
Kettce, Dr C. F. Mann, DrJ. F. Monk, D. J. MonTIER, Mrs A. M. Moore, R. G. Morcan,
Mrs M. Mutter, P. J. OLIver, J. G. PARKER, R. E. F. Peat, R. C. Price, Dr R. Pr¥s-JONEs,
A.J. RaNDaLL, M. Romer, Dr C. Ryatt, R. E. Scott, P. J. SELLar, Dr R. SExF, N. H. F.
Stone, Dr J. F. Warsu, C. E. WHEELER.

Guests attending were: Mrs B. Apcock, R. ALLEN, I. BisHop, Mrs G. BoNHaAM, Mrs J.
Butt, Mrs J. B. CaLpEr, Mrs E. CHanpier, M. Davies, P. DELALoYE, Mrs J. GLADWin,
G. GREEN, Mrs A. HELM, K. J. HERBIER, P. HirsLuNpD, Ms C. Horr, Mrs D. Monk, Mrs
M. Montier, P. J. Moore, R. Newton, Mrs E. Newton, B. O’Brien, Mrs B. PEAL, Dr
A. RICHFORD, Mrs M. S—eToN-WatTson, Miss R. WarrREN, R. WeBB, Mrs K. D. WHEELER,
Mrs B. Woopcock.

After supper Mr Martin Woodcock spoke on the birds of three forests in Africa—two
montane and one lowland—and illustrated his talk with slides. The forests discussed were at
Uhafiwa, near Chita in the ‘“‘Eastern Arc’’ montane area in Tanzania; at Minziro, in extreme
northwest Tanzania, an extension of the Malabigambo forest in Uganda; and Mount Kupe
in Cameroon. The main characteristic of the avifauna at Minziro is that it is typical in many
ways of that of the great central African lowland forest, though prior to 1984 it had not been
visited by ornithologists for nearly 50 years. Recent surveys have added 21 species to the
known avifauna of Tanzania. He drew attention to the high degree of endemism in the two
widely separated montane areas, at the same time noting the fact that a number of species
such as Mountain Greenbul Andropadus tephrolaemus, Crossley’s Ground-thrush
Zoothera crossleyi, Abyssinian Hill-babbler Alcippe abyssinica and Red-faced Crimsonwing
Cryptospiza reichenovii which are found in the Cameroon mountains re-appear at similar
altitudes in central and east Africa, but are absent from the intervening areas of lowland
forest. In commenting on the large number of endemic species restricted to the Eastern Arc
forests—endemism which is even more marked in reptiles, amphibians and plants than in
birds—he instanced the existence of a bush-shrike, a newly-discovered partridge, several
warblers, a weaver, several sunbirds and especially small turdids as noteworthy. In sharp
contrast however, is the lack of an endemic greenbul in these forests, despite the high degree
of speciation and sympatry in this group to be found in central Africa from east of the Congo
river to the Ruwenzoris. He illustrated this anomaly of greenbul distribution with maps and
diagrams, and postulated the existence of an as-yet undiscovered species of greenbul in the
Eastern Arc forests.

The eight hundred and thirty-eighth meeting of the Club was held in the Senior Common
Room, Sherfield Building, Imperial College on Tuesday 19 April 1994 at 6.15 p.m. 27
Members and 16 Guests attended.

Members attending were: D. GRIFFIN (Chairman), Miss H. Baker, B. H. Beck, P. J.
BELMAN, K. BeTtTon, P. J. BULL, D. R. CaLper, Dr R. A. CHEKE, S. J. FARNSWORTH, Revd
T. W. GLapwin, A. Grsss, C. A. R. HELM, K. HERBER, Ms R.-M. Jones, K. W. S. Kang,
R. Kettie, Dr C. F. Mann, D. J. Montier, Mrs A. M. Moore, R. G. Morean, J. G.
Parker, R. E. F. PEA, J. E. RICHARDSON, Dr C. Rya_, Dr R. SELF, P. J. SELLAR, N. H. F.
STONE.

Guests attending were: J. Wyatt J.P. (Speaker), Miss S. ASTLE-FLETCHER, Mrs J. BULL,
D. Couzens, E. DuNN, Mrs F. Farnsworth, H. F. Fox, Mrs J. GLapwin, Ms K. Horr,
S. Jones, J. McEacuen, Mrs M. Monrtier, P. J. Moore, N. Pearce, R. RANFT, Miss
R. WARREN.

The birds of eastern Poland, a country almost on our doorstep, yet still little known to
British ornithologists, was the subject of John Wyatt’s address. He concentrated on the
northeastern part of the country, and introduced the audience to some apparently tongue-
twisting localities, which really do not present a pronunciation problem once the rules are
learnt, as the spelling is phonetic. The magnificent Bialowieza Forest on the Belarus frontier
was one area that received attention. This forest is not only home to Black Storks Ciconia
nigra, an impressive array of raptors, both diurnal and nocturnal, Cranes Grus grus, most
European species of woodpecker, Bluethroat Luscinia svecica, Collared and Red-breasted

Meetings 139 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

Flycatchers Ficedula albicollis and F. parva, but also to a number of mammals of restricted
distribution, such as the European Bison Bos bonasus. An account of the Biebrza Valley,
which includes forest and heathland, as well as extensive marshes, was also presented to us.
This is a breeding area of many raptors, a variety of rallids (including Corncrake Crex crex,
and Spotted and Little Crakes Porzana porzana and P. parva, Crane, Great Snipe Gallinago
media and other waders, Black and White-winged Terns Chlidonias niger and C. leucopterus,
and various warblers, including Aquatic Acrocephalus paludicola. Some species, such as the
last mentioned, are represented by globally-important breeding populations in Poland.

The speaker certainly whetted appetites for a first or a repeat visit to that country, but he
drew attention to proposals for large scale agricultural developments which threaten many
of the pristine areas of eastern Poland.

The eight hundred and thirty-ninth meeting of the Club was a second visit, together with
members of staff of Whipsnade Wild Animal Park, to the Sub-department of Ornithology of
The Natural History Museum, at Tring. Members of the Club attending were: M. A.
Apvcock, Mrs P. E. Brap.ey, B. H. Beck, Cdr M. B. CASEMENT RN, S.J. FARNSworTH, Mrs
F. FARNSWORTH (guest), Revd T. W. GLapwin, K. W.S. Kang, N. J. Matcoim, J. M. REEp,
C. F. TURNER.

The eight hundred and fortieth meeting of the Club was held after the Annual General
Meeting in the Ante-room of the Sherfield Building, Imperial College on Tuesday 24 May
1994 at 6.15 p.m. 27 Members and 8 Guests attended.

Members attending were: D. GRIFFIN (Chairman), Dr P. Lack (Speaker), M. A. ADCOCK,
Miss H. Baker, P. J. BELMAN, Mrs D. BrapLey, Cdr M. B. CasEMENT RN, Professor R.
CHANDLER, Dr R. A. F. Cox, S. J. FARNSworTH, A. Gisss, Revd T. W. GLapwin, C. A. R.
Heo, R. H. Kettte, I. Lewis, Dr J. F. Monk, D. J. Montier, Mrs A. M. Moore, R. G.
Morcan, Mrs M. Mutter, R. E. F. PEAL, Dr R. SELF, R. E. Scott, Dr D. W. SNow,
S. A. H. StatHaM, N. H. F. Stone, A. R. TANNER.

Guests attending were: M. BrapDLey, Mrs F. FARNswortH, Mrs J. GLapwin, Ms K.
Horr, Mrs S. Lewis, Mrs M. Montier, P. J. Moore, Mrs A. Scott.

Dr Peter Lack spoke after supper on ‘““Birds and Farming’’. He has sent the following
summary of his talk.

Farmland occupies 70°, of the land surface of Britain and is an important habitat for
many birds and other wildlife. Farming also affects birds in many ways, only some of which
could be mentioned.

The BTO’s Common Birds Census and the New Atlas of Breeding Birds both indicate
that birds in farmland (especially some of the small hedgerow passerines and those which eat
predominantly seeds) have been declining more than those in other habitats. Some of the
declines can be related to modern farming practices such as the increased use of herbicides
over the last 15-20 years. The Common Birds Census also provides information on habitat
preferences. In general, when nesting in arable fields, field-nesting species seem to prefer
spring-sown to autumn-sown crops. A special survey of the Lapwing showed this prefer-
ence particularly strongly and that they also like to nest where there are grass fields nearby,
probably because this is the preferred field type for their chicks. In contrast, among
hedgerow passerines there is a strong preference for nesting in hedges adjacent to oilseed
rape, perhaps because it is easier for the birds to forage on the ground beneath this crop
than it is under most cereals. For species feeding on invertebrates in winter there is a
strong preference for permanent grass fields especially those on which manure has been
spread.

Hedges are arguably the most important habitat feature for birds in farmland. However, it
is essential that the hedges are managed; unmanaged hedges often quickly become less
suitable as they tend to become thin near the base. One of the most important factors
determining the numbers of birds in a hedge is the presence of trees; it appears that even
small trees have a beneficial effect, but it is not clear exactly what many of the birds use the
trees for.

Farmland has been relatively neglected as a habitat by conservationists, but it is essential
that birds and other wildlife continue to be monitored there as a measure of overall health of
the environment and to find out how the landscape is used.

Accounts

Income and Expenditure accounts for the year ended 31 December 1993

INCOME
Subscriptions received

Mem bersicces.sccracesetses ccewesororss

Donations received

Investment income
Stevens Bequest Fund:
COIF 2 Interest...
NCL Fund Managers .............
Barrington Trust Fund (COIF
Interest received:

Barclays Prime Account.......

Barclays Prime (Centenary) Account

COIF Deposit Account .......
Property

140

British Ornithologists’ Club

Income)S hares) iitiaictccsscceesos tase reeccecest

Capitalisation of Legal Fees arising in 1989
and:1990 re‘planning permission) s/2).).3.022.chc.-.sebceeeccatctoceasteessereseectens

Income Tax recovered

Deeds of Covenant ..................

Cost of sales (Bulletin)

@peningistock). or. cn ccceceess see
Closingistocksi i nccstes cn tee.tees

Meetings

Income persia sos sapecctncass tavseeseieees
Less: Restaurant charges..........

Speakers’ expenses/nOtices Cte ...2..)..csseececcsescecersessccauecetecneceeceaees

Banchargeyttatcscs ccctteee

Centenary Dinner

Imcomene set crtee eer tee

Less: Restaurant/hall hire ....

INOtices\etczs.-ssse0-s-sereeoess

Club ties

Less: Opening stock................-
Notices ete... icccc tessa ss

EXPENDITURE
Bulletin BOC

Publication and printing ..........

Additional offprints (separates)

Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

1993
£

9,124
208

9,332

£

6,998
17

8,199

360

1,036

(651)

(16)

126
(15)

(100)
100

3,137
(3,413)
(130)
(159)

2,548
(3,138)
(139)

639
(300)
(69)

9,380
238

9,618

7,778
17

13,892

2,143

324

111

(565)

(729)

270

23,241

Accounts 141 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

Expenditure continued

Bessy Offprint sales <...-.-.<- 22 fecsee-<- 33 (153) (110)
Authors’ contributions —_— (155)
9,179 9,353
Editor’s honorarium ..................- cochodoeescdocassdddddciavacososooacdaroncdadbcosnonded 750 750
Editorialiandisecretarial expenses 220. 1.........cc00sossseoseecoseercotsecsovevessesseces’ 14 85
PREIEESS ADC lstec sere core re Sane Sea ee eae re oR eee a once ese NT 527 651
esha repemee creceaccnte crete aenonn eeepc aiee tate raac state tastser en canec een anennee tecaneancesoeers 1,293 1,430
11,763 12,269
Special Centenary Issue Vol. 112A
Beblicatvarcan di Printin fer. ccm: cocnce sven ccsvccceccancsnatacwcscrecenense-veasesstoosenss 693 10,489
Additionaliofiprints (separates)) = <-2...2-<c-+-2+e-cs-ssrecsccecncoccceceesenecesesecesess — 580
693 11,069
Wess Salesi(excluding,ofiprints) <...cs--20c0e-cecesecesecccor es sscesensessccscsceseentere (1,886) (1,799)
Offprintisal es Fah ee eases cece ce den orescence ace eras since scosess leases (264) (170)
(1,457) 9,100
IS GitOrialleXPENSES macs orsccscese scence se erase secot eee ae tte ten et cneeesesees tascennnecs 38 139
IN GSES COS. ci Sseceunt occa De SEE cece ECE EE ean cao eaSaocon ReaD BOE Boa a ereREERCaGerD 54 257
Rostage—-1.9 9358 tes ccsccsccans-sccascvsccsscnesccedassetcansvessesres SEEN Meee 225 652
NOD lek yedescesverace cates heads cc saaseesseseyere ne one eee rnc cee cuaaeh ets 15 —
(1,125) 10,148
“Birds, Discovery and Conservation”
Contribution to publication and printing ..............cccecceeeseeeeeeeceeeeeneeeeees 3 5,372
Less: Sales (660) (3,110)
Donations — (750)
(657) 1,512
BN OEM COS ieee eee ecereran corer oetsccesensesc cee eee eee eaten eB CTRe Terese een eae —_— 68
1 ESET alee eee o aC UEC aE CREEL ECCS Ca cP EE coSceE EEE EERE ORe SEE EE CRP 76 250
(581) 1,830
EX EMCHANGIE TIC ANS CLECIDILGS meee ncesreccesrrses erase oe cec tec ner ee ee teens 89 —

Projection Equipment—depreciation ....0.......l0cseeeececescccececccesecesecetecseneees 10 10

Committee Administration
I OSEAG Chesereran ences tc dee eocceme caer toes mam teagnne sutton Saco reer evel ete towe nn sh reveredereseeee 409 330
SatlonenyjanGi printing en. sets sae tay caete ices tatencoe seers ase toc: acer eceasatatestocres 523 676

Secretarial... ae svbcdvasesicedsuansseiescdcecssendesisencneceteus Serbssscks tian viees 65 —
pbrelep Orie eee areata ne ata Santen Seat ctese onsen Se Teae ere TMS en En TELE eveaeE 173 369
1,170 1,375
MTISWEATICC ove. ce aas css ck ctor ee se seeve ete a acme JEi aves Peed sede Sdiseseate tesa Baas EAR Pet ee TE ei ee 75 50
ecountancy——( Ordinary APUnds) po.e-:retcscsrssresseesoerctes evita are eo crue 947 967
—(Herbert Stephens Fund) .... 117 —
BrAntkcharQes7...22:--0cczcesvaseeot cs sees sossasedacecstagsenbeptuspessthosesepsa dee FILER HeeoeS 90 55
redit card charges .:.2.0-cccsss1.c0scccacvs+ss0.8 Ys eee aa SAE ore cem Manet ces 47 124
Miscellaneous 48 124
Miiseellaneous—1992) Adjustment ...-0..-....-20-.c5-ocescecsssecznosesssseretecscaasncesss ve —_
1,401 1,320

BRGSE AN EXPN CIC ese ies sees ooo reese OTe EE Te TD aI a eS AH T2727 26,952

excess of Income over Expenditure ..........00.0000.ccccseccecccseseessseseesseseese 3,379 (3,711)

Accounts 142 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)
Balance Sheet as at 31 December 1993
1993 1992
£ £ £ £
General Fund
Balancelatupanuaryel 993 ace ccctemttssuserccecectcsccesrecracserscrecam sooreroneetecers 29,517 33,228
Add: Excess of income Over Expenditule ............cssseeccressecerseeseserneserernes 3,379 (3,711)
BalancelatislpDecemberdO 93 recereetcevsacccssecseenerseesctevercee rectoreatecctrerer 32,896 29,517
Barrington Trust Fund
Balance at 1 January 1993 and at 31 December 1993 .............eeeeeeeeeeeeeees 577 577
Stevens Bequest Fund
Balancejatil i) anuarylO 93h ecsnccostrcecstcect rate ceoen oere setae eeee ee erence ene 145,017 157,747
(Loss) on sale of Freehold Property ...........:.cccccccseescseteeeeesseeeesesesseeeees (64) (12,730)
BalanceiatS lWDecember1 99 Sie ee ccccccccssccsscnecccctcoccsveresevectetecteceiseens 144,953 145,017
178,426 175,111
Represented by:
Barrington Trust Fund Investment
Charity Fund 111.57 COIF Income shares—at Cost ..............006ececee0e 577 577
Stevens Bequest Fund Investment
COIFINos2:Accountssiciieet amor eeertre setae vecccecuttasovacues eeyuseevaueletavees — 145,017
ING hundllVianagersin..stecn user ances cacetesaceseccseecsvesescesuscceses sents 144,953 i
144,953 145,017
Fixed Assets
ProjectionVEQuipmenticcisscccsseerei peveccastneccseverecorecndsuewcncrcanseacencieestane 80 90
Current Assets
StockiofiRublications)-sssteecacctecsaestese reac ore cere oleae en eens eae eet 100 100
Cash in Hand 43 13
Cash at Bank
—Barclaysi Prime Accounts. csrii syscccce ce tiaee od sacehocne chess soensene ate casniean ses 3,686 17,837
—Barclays Prime (Centenary) Account .. 129 132
—Lloyds Current Account ................. — 23
—Post Office Giro Account — 116
—COIF Deposit Account.... 18,314 19,195
—COIF No. 2 Account .... 18,653 14,429
SundrysDebtorsitincssssccinossesctassneectasceaecseslsecies se tneuussrcedeseencskitectonvaaences 490 26
41,415 51,871
Current Liabilities
Subscriptions received in advance
Ea A (ot 0 6 OY =) oA EE SRE SE ee SN at 2,129 1,686
—Non-member Subscribers re 1,623 1,723
——Merm bersireftim disece ative. icsines ies eon ieee eee ee eae a teen can ea naa Tena vetenaseaiees 20 17
Suindrys@reditors else dese aed a names ceaecco nea eeue roa eenet tea nator ate Mumoneneons 4,827 19,018
(8,599) (22,444)
178,426 175,111
Stevens Bequest Fund Investments
Balance Sheet as at 31 December 1993
1993
General Fund Assets
InvestmentsiatiCosteetrccpeccscnesseten seer eece a santeteesecec eee eee aac eeeecea nese 137,308
Current Assets
Gartmore gD eposityseaeeeteccconccseretes coe aeeee tee eeu eae ce a eae aerate one 7,645
Net Current Assets 144,953
144,953

Auditors’ Report 143 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)
AUDITORS’ REPORT
To the Members of
BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB
We have audited the financial statements in accordance with Auditing Standards.
In our opinion the financial statements give a true and fair view of the state of the
Charity’s affairs at 31 December 1993 and of its Income and Expenditure for the year
then ended.
Prince Albert House
20 King Street DONALD REID & CO.,
Maidenhead, Berks Registered Auditors
17 May 1994

Approved by the Committee on 24 May 1994
D. GRIFFIN, Chairman

M. Louette & P. Herroelen 144 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

A revised key for Cercococcyx cuckoos,
taxonomic status of C. montanus patulus and
its occurrence in Zaire

by Michel Louette & Paul Herroelen
Received 4 Fune 1993

When examining the Cercococcyx collections in the Royal Museum for
Central Africa (K MMA), we discovered that the identification key in
Chapin (1928, 1939), though useful for most adult birds, does not
permit separation of all specimens. Below, we propose a revised key.
Chapin gave a definition of this genus and a good account of its
taxonomic history. Since he examined the holotypes of mechowi and
olivinus himself, described montanus (a montane bird from the
Albertine Rift) and accepted patulus Friedmann, 1928 (a migratory
bird, breeding in southeastern Africa, not montane in general) as a race
of montanus, we feel that these names are solidly based (for synonymy,
see Chapin 1939). But the relationship between the four taxa is open to
debate (see below).

In Fry et al. (1988), hereafter called Birds of Africa, nominate
montanus is treated very briefly, more attention being given to patulus;
furthermore, tail measurements provided therein for certain species in
this genus are confusing. This is remarkable because according to
M.P.S. Irwin (pers. comm.), the author of the Cuculidae section, the
measurements were obtained from C.W. Benson. But Benson (1964)
has another set for two species, which appears to be correct. We
suppose that, apart from obvious errors, some very low values obtained
on immature birds or specimens in moult were included in Birds of
Africa. Our measurements, taken on material from Zaire in KMMA,
with additional specimens from elsewhere in Africa, on loan from the
Royal Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels (KBIN), The Natural
History Museum, Tring (BMNH), the National Museums of Kenya,
Nairobi (NMK&), the National Museum of Zimbabwe (NMZ) and the
American Museum of Natural History, New York (AMNH), are given
in Table 1. Care was taken to measure the undamaged central rectrix.

Benson (1964) mentioned the fact that southern populations of
olivinus tend to be larger and Chapin’s (1928) measurements of central
and western birds seem to confirm this; indeed, our largest specimens
come from southern Zaire and northern Zambia (the part of the range
outside the equatorial forest belt), but since there is overlap, we do not
recommend nomenclatural separation. There is some non-geographical
variation in plumage of apparent adults, especially in olivinus: some
individuals possess narrow white markings on secondaries and on the
greater wing coverts, and also the extent of pale rufous barring on
primaries and wing coverts is variable in several species. Another

variable character is the buffish or white colour on the ventral side in |

olivinus (K MMA and AMNH specimens) and also in patulus (Keith
1968). It is not excluded that this variation is due to sexual

M. Louette & P. Herroelen 145 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)
TABLE 1

Wind chord and tail length measurements in mm for Cercococcyx spp.

Wing Tail

n range mean, s.d. range mean (7), s.d.
C. mechowt
juveniles 4 123-136 142-167
immatures 5 127-138 172-195
males 32 129-147 135.7, 4.1 170-197 185.1(30), 7.0
females 11 131-140 136.0, 4.3 172-195 182.2, 7.9
adults (sex?) 3 133-134 173-181
C. olivinus
juveniles 2 124-130 115-137
immatures 3 130-149 162-193
males 20 139-165 147.1, 6.5 157-205 176.1(18), 10.8
females 6 141-154 148.0, 4.5 165-183 178.4(5), 6.8
adults (sex?) = 147-161 174-200 (3)
C. m. montanus
immatures 6 127-136 162-179
males 18 134-148 140.3, 3.6 180-190 186.3(13), 3.4
females 11 133-145 139.6, 3.8 182-187 184.3(10), 2.7
C. m. patulus
immatures 2 140-142 175-177
males 9 143-154 148.8, 3.8 175-190 181.0, 5.3
females 2 144-154 167-187
adult (sex?) 1 148 181

Notes. Data for mechowi, olivinus and montanus mainly from Zaire; for patulus from
Tanzania and Malawi, and two from Zaire. Blake et al. (1990) give wing 143, tail 196 mm
for a specimen of m. montanus from Burundi.

dimorphism, but the label data do not confirm this supposition. Our
measurements (Table 1) indicate there is no sexual size difference.

Immature plumages

The nestling to immature stages have not been well described (which
has hampered, e.g., field identification by such authors as Brosset &
Erard 1986). We believe the adult plumage is acquired after one moult,
although we do not exclude the possibility that the second plumage
may be recognisable. Here follow the descriptions.

C. mechowt. The young bird is blackish on throat and breast and has
narrow chestnut (colour 32 in Smithe 1975) edges to those feathers and
also to those on head and neck (the indication “‘rusty”’ in Birds of Africa
would be applicable to all Cercococcyx species; it appears also that the
illustration therein is not altogether satisfactory, the immature “C.
mechowt’ in fact resembling C. montanus).

C. olivinus. In the first plumage, the young has a tawny (colour 38 in
Smithe 1975) overlay on the whole of the head, shoulders and mantle.
There are four young specimens from Zaire, all with this general
colour, especially as nestlings. Later, as fledglings, the colour is paler,
the wing coverts and tail feathers showing tawny edges. At no stage is

M. Louette S P. Herroelen 146 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

the young barred dark brown and black as in mechowz?, nor has it ever a
black throat. The BMNH olivinus specimen from Kumba, Cameroon,
29 July 1950, is in the transitory stage towards adult, moulting directly
from the juvenile plumage, wherefrom feathers are retained (apart from
primaries, secondaries, tertials and rectrices, identified by wear) in the
mantle and in the wing coverts, where the contrast in colour is very
apparent.

Nominate C. m. montanus. The young has narrow cinnamon (colour
39 in Smithe 1975) edges to the dark brown head and mantle feathers.
The throat is dusky, streaked with white and edged cinnamon; the
breast is blackish, streaked in a pattern which Chapin describes as
“lunulate’. We have examined in KBIN a very young montanus,
collected at Munga, Kivu, Zaire, by Prigogine’s collector on 26 March
1988 (wing 105 mm, tail 70 mm), matching the one described so well by
Chapin (1928). The adult plumage is somewhat neotenic (Friedmann &
Stager 1964); dorsally it is paler than the juvenile, but showing also
fringes on the feathers which are basally more olivaceous than the
juvenile ones. (No really young specimen of C. m. patulus was found.)

In m. montanus and mechow1, young birds have narrow rusty margins
to the tips of primaries and secondaries; these last longer on the
secondaries due to wear on primaries, and are still visible at the
moment the bird has acquired a second generation tail.

Hence, in this genus the juveniles differ substantially although the
adults are quite similar. The different age plumages were well
examined in Cuculus by Bannerman (1921) and Friedmann (1930,
1948); less so in the present genus. No author after Reichenow (1903),
except Friedmann (1948) for the sole species olivinus, mentions the
white tips to all rectrices (which are broad) as being the best character
to recognize the adult. In fact, the first generation tail feathers in
Cercococcyx (and certain Cuculus, see Louette & Herroelen 1993) are
narrow and end in a point, with a very narrow brownish-white tip,
which wears off rapidly. Apparently, the tail moults often in a cuckoo’s
life, but sometimes irregularly, quite likely due to accidental loss of a
feather (we examined four such adult females of montanus, 2 in June, 1
in August, 1 in December; apparently in the breeding period).

A revised key

1 Rectrices broad, with rounded or square tips, white-tipped (or pale |
rufous-tipped) for 5-8 mm; if head and mantle feathers with rufous —
margins, then barred not streaked on ventral side: adults 2

Rectrices pointed, not white-tipped; if prominent rufous or |
brownish margins on head and mantle feathers then ventral side

streaked or lunulate: young birds 5
2 Adults:
Mantle olive-brown with a faint greenish-olivaceous gloss; mantle

feathers with rufous edges 3

Mantle dark grey or olive-brown; plain 4]

M. Louette S P. Herroelen 147 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

3 Ventral side pale buff; dorsal side rather pale patulus

Dorsal side dark with greenish sheen montanus

4 Crown and mantle dark grey; rufous barring on remiges and wing
coverts pronounced; barring on ventral side narrow; undertail
buflish orange; rump and uppertail coverts blackish, tipped and
flecked with white; wing about 75% of tail length mechowti

Mantle dark olive brown, crown somewhat greyish; remiges and
coverts may be barred, more often unbarred; ventral side pale buff
with wide barring; rump and uppertail coverts dark olive-brown,
lightly flecked white and buff; wing about 82% of tail length

olivinus

5 Young birds:
throat pale; dorsal side tawny; ventral side streaked; olivinus
throat blackish 6
6 Crown, neck and breast feathers with chestnut edges mechowt
Cinnamon edges to crown, neck and mantle feathers montanus

(the young patulus is apparently unknown)

The taxonomic status of patulus

A good illustration of the adult patulus is given in Clancey (1971); it is
similar in pattern but much paler than montanus, but the ‘“‘neotenic”’
plumage in both taxa may not be a sign of close relationship.

As mentioned above, the nestling plumage of patulus is unknown.
But there are two birds with pointed rectrices without white tips in our
sample, although the rest of their plumage is much as in adults: (1)
Shimoni, Kenya coast at 7°39'S, 39°23’E, 3 September 1976 in NMK,
mentioned in Britton (1977), its label bears the note “Stull
incompletely ossified’’; and (2) Idjwi Island, c.2°S, 29°E, Zaire, 15
August 1969, in KMMA. If we assume that in this species the tail
moults simultaneously with the rest of the plumage, as is the case in the
other species in the genus, these two must be considered immatures
(and unmoulted in body plumage?). But in nominate montanus the
young bird has a blackish throat! If indeed the nestling plumages prove
to be different, patulus and montanus should probably not be considered
conspecific. But their songs seem to be very similar and distinct from
that of olivinus, which was nevertheless considered to be their closest
relative by Chapin (1939) and Stjernstedt (1984). Note that in
measurements and proportion, patulus and olivinus are alike (and
different from montanus). These two are similar in their eurytopy (for
which a longer wing and a shorter tail seem appropriate), whereas the
differentially proportioned montanus is stenotopic in montane forest
and mechowi in lowland forest. For the time being we do not change
nomenclature.

M. Louette S P. Herroelen 148 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

Occurrence of patulus in Zaire

After comparison with specimens from southeastern Africa, if becomes
clear that the specimens from Idjwi Island (mentioned above) and
Gandajika (6°45'S, 23°57'E), 28 August 1951, are patulus. This taxon
was previously unknown from Zaire. In view of its migration in
southeastern Africa, where it appears seasonally in Kenya (Britton
1977) and also in Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe, to breed (latest
update in Taylor & ‘Taylor 1988; also Vernon et al. 1989; M.P.S.
Irwin), the dispersal towards Zaire is not really surprising, although it
has not yet been found close to the Zaire border in Zambia or in
‘Tanzania. Stjernstedt (1984) assumes that patulus is montane in the
northern part of its range and not in the south, but we think this
migrant was found at high elevations in Kenya and Tanzania because of
the forested habitat, not because of altitude; in Zaire there is no lack of
good forest at lower elevation and patulus could be of more than
irregular occurrence.

In contrast, judging from the number of specimens, C. m. montanus
must be a common resident in its restricted montane haunts in the
Albertine rift of Zaire.

Acknowledgements

For the loan of specimens we are indebted to Leon Bennun, NMK; Christine Blake,
AMNH; Kit Hustler, NMZ; Walter Roggeman, KBIN; Michael Walters, BMNH.
Michael P.S. Irwin commented upon the Birds of Africa manuscript.

References:

Bannerman, D. A. 1921. Remarks on rare and otherwise interesting birds contained in
collections made by Mr G. L. Bates in Southern Cameroon. [bis (11)3: 81-121.
Benson, C. W. 1964. The species of Cercococcyx in Mwinilunga, Northern Rhodesia.

Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 84: 5-7.

Blake, J. G., Loiselle, B. A. & Vande weghe, J. P. 1990. Weights and measurements of
some Central African birds. Gerfaut 80: 3-11.

Britton, P. L. 1977. A Kenya record of Cercococcyx montanus at sea level. Scopus 1:
23-24.

Brosset, A. & Erard, C. 1986. Les oiseaux des régions forestiéres du nord-est du Gabon. Vol.
1. Ecologie et comportement des espéces. Société Nationale de Protection de la
Nature, Paris.

Chapin, J. P. 1928. The African cuckoos of the genus Cercococcyx. Am. Mus. Novit. no.
313

Chapin, J. P. 1939. The Birds of the Belgian Congo. Part 2. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 75.

Clancey, P. A. 1971. A Handlist to the Birds of Southern Mogambique. Instituto de
Investiga¢ao cientifica de Mocambique, Lourengo Marques.

Friedmann, H. 1928. A new cuckoo from Tanganyika Territory. Proc. New Eng. Zool. Cl.
10: 83-84.

Friedmann, H. 1930. Birds collected by the Childs Frick expedition to Ethiopia and
Kenya Colony. Part 1. Non-Passeres. Bull. US Natl Mus. 153: 1-516.

Friedmann, H. 1948. The Parasitic Cuckoos of Africa. Academy of Sciences, Washington,
D.C.

Friedmann, H. & Stager, K. E. 1964. Results of the 1964 Cheney Tanganyikan
Expedition. Ornithology. Contrib. Sci. 84: 3-50.

Fry, C. H., Keith, S. & Urban, E. K. 1988. The Birds of Africa. Vol. 3. Academic Press.

Keith, G. S. 1968. Notes on the birds of East Africa, including additions to the avifauna.
Am. Mus. Novit. no. 2321.

Louette, M. & Herroelen, P. 1993. Status of migratory Cuculus cuckoos in Zaire. Bull.
Brit. Orn. Cl. 113: 147-152.

B. M. Whitney et al. 149 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

Reichenow, A. 1903. Die Végel Afrikas. Vol. 2. Neudamm, Neumann.

Smithe, F. B. 1975. Naturalist’s Color Guide. American Museum of Natural History,
New York.

Stjernstedt, R. 1984. First record of the Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo Cercococcyx
montanus in Zambia. Bull. Zambian Orn. Soc. 16: 18-20.

Taylor, P. B. & Taylor, C. A. 1988. The status, movements and breeding of some birds
in the Kikuyu escarpment Forest, cental Kenya highlands. Tauraco 1: 72-89.

Vernon, C. J., Macdonald, I. A. W. & Dean, W. R. J. 1989. Birds in an isolated tropical
lowland rainforest in eastern Zimbabwe. Ostrich Suppl. 14: 111-122.

Address: Michel Louette and Paul Herroelen, Koninklijk Museum voor Midden-Afrika,
3080 Tervuren, Belgium.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994

Distributional and other noteworthy records
for some Bolivian birds

by Bret M. Whitney, Ffohn L. Rowlett & Rose Ann Rowlett
Received 26 Fune 1993

With respect to other countries in South America, our knowledge of the
distribution of birds in Bolivia is unparalleled. That significant sections
of the country remain little-known ornithologically is clear, but the fact
that what information has been amassed is organized and readily
accessible to all (Remsen & Traylor 1989) provides a unique frame of
reference for further investigation. Remsen & ‘Traylor (1989)
documented records for all Bolivian birds on a departmental level, and
indicated those departmental records included on the basis of tape
recordings, photographs, and sight records. Several subsequent papers
have continued to update Remsen & Traylor (1989) on a departmental
level. Publication of range extensions for Bolivian birds is especially
important not only because such work updates a relatively complete
data base, but also because so many species of birds, from a diverse set
of biomes including grasslands, chaco woodland, Amazonian rain
forest, and the entire range of Andean habitats, reach a latitudinal or
longitudinal range limit within Bolivia.

In this paper we present noteworthy distributional records of
Bolivian birds observed primarily in February—March 1992 and March
1993, in addition to some earlier records not previously reported in the
literature. Included are one new record for the country (a sighting of
several Lesson’s Seedeaters Sporophila bouvronides), 30 new depart-
mental records, documentation of some species listed by Remsen &
Traylor (1989) as sight records, and a few accounts discussing other
aspects of the distribution of certain species. Photographs, video
recordings and tape recordings documenting some of these records will
be archived at VIREO (Visual Resources for Ornithology, The
Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, Pennysylvania) and the
Library of Natural Sounds (Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Ithaca,
New York), respectively. Many of these records were corroborated, and

B. M. Whitney et al. 150 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

in some cases documented, by participants on natural history tours led
by the authors. In determining what records to include in this paper,
we have referred heavily to Remsen &. Traylor (1989), as well as all
subsequently published information on the distribution of Bolivian
birds. Some of our records may in fact be preceded by the unpublished
records of others. We hope that any such records will find their way
into the literature where they become available to all. Departments are
abbreviated: Cochabamba (CQO), La Paz (LP), Oruro (OR), and Santa
Cruz (SC). Sight records are indicated by an asterisk. Authors’ initials
are used throughout.

GREAT EGRET Casmerodius albus*

OR: RAR and JLR observed a single Great Egret at Lago Uru-uru,
3700 m, on 18 Oct 1987, and another was seen by RAR at the same
locality on 30 Oct 1990. These appear to represent the first records for
OR.

SNOWY EGRET Egvretta thula*

OR: The first record of Snowy Egret in OR was reported by Davis et
al. (1994) as a sighting at Lago Uru-uru on 13 Nov 1991. On 25 Oct
1979, RAR and R. S. Ridgely saw two Snowy Egrets at this locality.
Subsequently, singles have been seen at Lago Uru-uru on 5 occasions,
1985-1992. Apparently, there still is no documented record for E. thula
in OR.

MAGUARI STORK Ciconia maguari

SC: The Maguari Stork is known from SC on the basis of a sight
record of a single individual seen 5km S of Concepcién on 28 Nov
1986 (Davis 1993). RAR saw a single C. maguari in marshy fields east
of Montero on 3 Oct 1982, five individuals in this area on 11 Oct 1986,
and singles on 17 Oct 1987 and 18 Oct 1990. On 7 Mar 1993, JLR and
BMW counted 28 individuals in wet, grassy fields between 10 km S of
Montero and 20km E of that town, along the road to Okinawa. On
these same dates in 1992, when local conditions were much drier, no C.
maguart were observed. The elevation at Montero is c. 450 m. One of
the C. maguari observed in 1993 was photographed, providing the first
documented record for SC.

OR: On 30 Oct 1990, RAR saw two Maguari Storks in the extensive
marsh at Lago Uru-uru at c. 3700 m. Fjeldsa & Krabbe (1990: 82)
reported that C. maguari ‘‘wanders to 2500 m in Cochambamba,”’ and
gave no higher records for elsewhere. This sight record represents the
first report for OR and the altiplano in general.

FULVOUS WHISTLING-DUCK Dendrocygna bicolor* |

OR: Two Fulvous Whistling-Ducks were observed by JLR and
others on 19 Mar 1992 at Lago Uru-uru, at c. 3700m. Having
ascertained that the birds were whistling-ducks, all observers noted the
generally light-brown plumage of the birds from the dark-capped head
(which lacked any indication of white or rusty-white in the facial
region) through the underparts, the darker back, the lengthened,

B. M. Whitney et al. 151 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

white-edged flank feathers, and white band crossing the base of the tail.
This is apparently the first report of this species in OR.

CO: On 16 Mar 1993, JLR and BMW saw a single D. bicolor at Lago
Angosturas, c. 3000m, approximately 20km W of the city of
Cochabamba. Fjeldsa & Krabbe (1990) regarded a record from 2550 m
in CO as “‘accidental’’.

BROAD-WINGED HAWK Buteo platypterus*

The Broad-winged Hawk is known in Bolivia from only about three
records (Remsen & Traylor 1989). We here report several sight records,
mostly of single, soaring birds: 3 near Villa Tunari, CO, 780 m, 31 Oct
1985; one along the road between Tablas Monte and Villa Tunari, CO,
27 Oct 1990 (RAR; elev. not determined); one near Tablas Monte, CO,
2850 m, 15 Mar 1993; two above Coroico, LP, 27 Oct 1979 (RAR, R. S.
Ridgely; elev. not determined); one in P. N. Amboro (NE Mairana,
above La Yunga), SC, 2240 m, 16 Feb 1992; one 10 km E Montero, SC,
450 m, 7 Mar 1993; and one over the Serrania de Siberia, SC, 2850 m,
11 Mar 1993.

ZONE-TAILED HAWK Buteo albonotatus*

CO: A single adult was seen briefly in flight over humid forest along
the road between Tablas Monte and Villa Tunari at about 1525 m on
17 Mar 1993 (BMW, JLR). We thought at first that this dark raptor
was going to be a Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura because of the general
shape and dihedral flight profile, but we immediately noticed the
bright-yellow cere and legs, barring on the underside of the primaries,
and conspicuous white bands on the tail. This represents the first
report of B. albonotatus for CO.

BAT FALCON Falco rufigularis

LP: On 24 Feb 1992, a single Bat Falcon was observed along the
ridge (c. 3250 m) between Cotapata and Chuspipata (BMW, JLR). The
highest published elevation we have been able to find for this
wide-ranging raptor is 1600m (Hilty & Brown 1986). Fjeldsa &
Krabbe (1990) report that the similar F’. deiroleucus (Orange-breasted
Falcon) “‘can possibly reach the lower fringe of the temperate zone”’
(which they define as 2500 m; p. 16) in some parts of its range. We
noted that the bird near Chuspipata was too small to be a F’. deiroleucus,
had only a limited amount of orange feathering on the lower breast, and
had the small feet typical of F. rufigularis. Upon our approach, the bird
vocalized several times, and we were able to obtain tape-recordings.
This high-elevation record probably represents a wandering individual,
or perhaps a migrant from the south (the species occurs south to
Tucuman and Santiago del Estero, Argentina), although to our
knowledge, latitudinal migration has not been reported for F.
rufigularis. ‘The seasonal status of F. rufigularis in the southern
terminus of its range should be documented as a first step in
determining whether birds from this area are migratory.

ANDEAN GUAN Penelope montagnii
SC: BMW observed a single individual on 17 Feb 1992 in P. N.
Amboro (about 22 km by road NE Mairana, above La Yunga), at about

B. M. Whitney et al. 152 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

2100 m. On 11 Mar 1992 and 11 Mar 1993 in the Serrania de Siberia,
2780 m, JLR and BMW observed a total of four P. montagnit. The 1992
sighting was documented with video recording of two individuals made
by Howard Wilson. There are few reports of P. montagnii from SC.
Remsen & Cardiff (1990; graph p. 975) showed only one specimen
locality for SC.

AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER Pluvialis dominica*

In the latter half of Mar 1992 (BMW, JLR) and the first half of Mar
1993 (BMW, O. Rocha), migrant groups of P. dominica were noted at
several localities on the Bolivian altiplano in OR (about 40 individuals
outside the town or Oruro; 3700m) and LP (2 localities at
approximately 4000 m near El Alto, above the town of La Paz, and 2
localities near Lago ‘Titicaca, 3800 m and 4100 m). More than 250
individuals were noted in one of the groups near La Paz. An additional
LP record is of four P. dominica seen by RAR and T. A. Parker III on
19 Oct 1983 at Caranavi, 650m. RAR has observed one to four
individuals near Lago Uru-uru, 3700 m, OR, in late Oct and early Nov
several years since 1984. The only previous published record from La
Paz is of an individual collected 12 April 1992 at Guaqui, 3600 m
(Remsen et al. 1985). Remsen & Traylor (1989) cited Remsen et al.
(1985) as the source for the occurrence of P. dominica in OR, but there
is no mention of a record for that department in that paper (or in other
papers in that series). Fjeldsa & Krabbe (1990) reported that “‘large
numbers can be seen around 4000 m on altiplanos of NW Argentina,
Bolivia, and Peru in Mar—Apr’’, but cited no references or specific
occurrences.

GREY PLOVER Pluvialis squatarola

OR: RAR observed a single bird on a mudflat at Lago Uru-uru,
3700 m, on 3 Nov 1985. It was watched as it foraged on the mudflat,
and the black axillars and whitish upper tail-coverts and tail were seen
clearly in flight. This represents the first report for OR, and apparently
only the second record for Bolivia. The first record was of a single bird
observed by B. D. Glick at the sewage ponds of the city of Santa Cruz
de la Sierra, SC, on 6 Nov 1983 (Schmitt et al. 1986).

UPLAND SANDPIPER Bartramia longicauda*

SC: BMW and JLR observed single individuals about 10 km NE and
15km SE of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, c. 450m, on 7 Mar 1993.
Additionally, they heard the distinctive flight call of Bartramia several
times in close succession on the early evening of 12 Mar 1992 near —
‘Tambo (about 15 km E Comarapa), at c. 1600 m. Although there are |
numerous records of southbound migrants (mostly observed by RAR et
al. near Santa Cruz de la Sierra in Oct), these March records appear to
be the first reports of Bartramia on northbound migration in Bolivia.

LEAST SANDPIPER Calidris minutilla
OR: A single individual was observed by BMW and JLR as it
foraged along the edge of Lago Uru-uru, c. 3700 m, on 19 Mar 1992.

B. M. Whitney et al. 153 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

We noted the small size of this Calidris sandpiper, the general
brownish, uniform tones of the plumage including fine, brownish
breast streaks extending posteriorly to the lower breast, terminating in
a fairly sharp demarcation with the whitish belly. The bill was thin,
sharply pointed at the tip, and slightly decurved; the legs were
distinctly yellow. The bird was photographed by William Maynard and
video-recorded by Howard Wilson as it foraged and fed alongside a
Baird’s Sandpiper C. bairdi. There are four previous published records
for Bolivia, all from east of the Andes (Schmitt et al. 1986), and one
record mentioned in Fyjeldsa & Krabbe (1990) for ‘2550m in
Cochabamba.” Our record represents the first for OR and apparently
the first record from the Andean altiplano.

BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER Tyryngites subruficollis*

CO: A single Buff-breasted Sandpiper observed by RAR and S. L.
Hilty on the grassy shores of Lago Alalay in the city of Cochabamba,
2550 m, on 24 Oct 1984, and two birds seen there on 1 Nov 1985,
constitute the first reports from CO.

ANDEAN PARAKEET Bolborhynchus orbygnesius

SC: High-flying flocks of Andean Parakeets were observed in P. N.
Amboro, 2250 m, on 16 and 17 Feb 1992 (BMW); at Tunal, 1850 m, on
2 and 10 Mar 1992 (BMW, JLR); and in the Serrania de Siberia,
2700 m, on 13 Mar 1992 and 11 Mar 1993 (BMW, JLR). Some of these
flocks, especially at 'Tunal, numbered more than 300 individuals, and
the 1992 sightings taken together represented well over 2000 birds. We
identified these parakeets as B. orbygnesius by their small size,
uniformly bright-green plumage, medium-length, pointed tails (no
elongated tip), distinctive vocalizations, and characteristic flight
patterns in high, tight, fast-flying flocks in which individuals fly with
constant wing-beats without undulations (pers. obs.). The only
similar-looking parakeet in Bolivia is B. aurifrons (Mountain Parakeet),
which has an appreciably longer tail and different vocalizations,
inhabits generally drier regions, and never travels in high, fast-flying
flocks (rarely more than about 150m above ground unless, perhaps,
crossing a canyon; pers. obs.). Furthermore, individual B. aurifrons fly
with several rapid wing-beats followed by a momentary appression of
the wings against the body, producing an undulating flight pattern
(pers. obs.). At least one flock of B. orbygnesius was tape-recorded for
documentation, establishing the first records for SC and apparently the
southernmost for the species. The Barred Parakeet B. lineola, which
has a flight pattern and vocalizations similar to those of B. orbygnesius,
is not known south of central Peru.

BLACK-WINGED PARROT Hapalopsittaca melanotis

SC: A single individual of this beautiful parrot was observed by
BMW in P. N. Ambor6 (about 22 km by road NE of Mairana, above
La Yunga) on 16 Feb 1992 at c. 2100m. On 11 and 12 Mar 1992,
between 2650 and 2800 m in the Serrania de Siberia, BMW and JLR

observed one pair and a group of four, some of which were

B. M. Whitney et al. 154 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

tape-recorded, and three of which were video-recorded by Howard
Wilson as they perched in the crown of a tall tree along the road. These
are the first reports of H. melanotis for SC, and the southernmost for
the species.

ASH-COLOURED CUCKOO Coccyzus cinereus*

CO: BMW observed a single Ash-coloured Cuckoo flying at eye-level
across the parking lot of a gas station on the edge of Villa Tunari,
390 m, on 28 Feb 1992. The small size of this Coccyzus cuckoo, in
combination with its pale, brownish-grey upperparts and wings,
dark-breasted, whitish-bellied underparts, and rather short (for the
genus) pale-tipped tail allowed positive identification. This was almost
certainly a northbound migrant. ‘This 1s the first report of C. cinereus

from CO.

RUFOUS-BANDED OWL Ciccaba albitarsus

LP: RAR tape-recorded a Rufous-banded Ow] at c. 2450 m along the
road between Chuspipata and Coroico (above Sacramento Alto) on 17
Oct 1982, providing the first documented record for LP. Additionally,
BMW and JLR flushed a pair of C. albitarsus from a day-roost at
Sacramento Alto, 2400 m, approximately 8 km by road E of (below)
Chuspipata along the road to Coroico, 22 Mar 1992. Although Remsen
& Traylor (1989) cited no LP record for C. albitarsus, Fjeldsa &
Krabbe (1990) stated that it occurs “‘south to La Paz” without
supporting evidence.

SC: On the early morning of 4 Mar 1992, in the Serrania de Siberia,
BMW and JLR heard the unmistakable song of C. albitarsus coming
from the steep slope of a heavily forested canyon at about 2780 m. The
bird(s) was tape-recorded by JLR, establishing the first SC record and
the southernmost for the species.

CHESTNUT-COLLARED SWIFT Cypseloides rutilus*

SC: BMW observed a flock of eight C. rutilus at c. 2200 m, over P. N.
Amboro (c. 22 km by road NE Mairana, above La Yunga), on 17 Feb
1992. The diagnostic buzzy calls of this swift were heard, and the
chestnut throat was seen clearly on at least two of the birds. This is the
first report of C. rutilus for SC, and apparently the southernmost in this
species’ wide distribution.

GREAT DUSKY SWIFT Cypseloides senex*

SC: This swift is known in Bolivia from a sight record(s) by A.
Kratter near Flor de Oro in northern P. N. Noel Kempft Mercado. On —
28 Mar 1992, BMW saw 8-10 C. senex c. 10km down the Rio |
Itenez/Guaporé from Flor de Oro, at c. 180m near the base of the
Serrania de Huanchaca. These medium-brown swifts are noticeably
larger than congeners and the characteristic whitish frosting of the
forehead, the anterior portion of the face, and the chin were seen well
on several individuals. Seemingly ideal breeding habitat in the form of
large waterfalls surrounded by forest and more open areas is present on

B. M. Whitney et al. 155 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

the Serrania de Huanchaca, and it would not be surprising to discover
that C. senex breeds in this region.

GREENISH PUFFLEG Haplophaedia aureliae*

CO: On 27 Feb 1992, BMW and JLR observed a single Greenish
Puffleg at c. 1890 m along the road between Tablas Monte and Villa
Tunari. The bird was feeding at flowers along the roadside in
moderately disturbed subtropical forest. We noted that it was an
essentially all-dark, medium-sized hummingbird with a thin, medium-
length, perfectly straight black bill. It had a small, white post-ocular
spot, a fairly bronzy rump, and a dark, slightly rounded tail. Its whitish
leg puffls were visible, but inconspicuous. There are few records of H.
aureliae for Bolivia, where it was previously known only from LP
(Remsen & Traylor 1989). This sight record indicates that H. aureliae
occurs south at least to Prov. Chapare, CO. BMW and JLR also saw a
single individual at 1940 m a few km below Sacramento Alto along the
road to Coroico, LP, on 23 Mar 1993.

RED-NECKED WOODPECKER Campephilus rubricollis

This big woodpecker occupies a much greater elevational range in
central Bolivia than in any other part of its wide distribution. It occurs
from the wet forests of the Amazonian lowlands to humid montane
forest, reaching an elevation of at least 2150 m in Prov. Chapare, CO
(16 Mar 1992; tape-recorded) and at least 2650 m in the Serrania de
Siberia, SC (11 Mar 1992). The highest published elevation that we
have found for C. rubricollis anywhere is “‘rarely to 4000 ft on Roraima’”’
(Short 1982). The expansion of the altitudinal distribution of C.
rubricollis in central Bolivia appears to be an example of ecological
release. Through most of the range of C. rubricollis, one or more
congeners inhabit humid montane forest on the east slope of the Andes.
C. haematogaster (Crimson-bellied Woodpecker) occupies the lower
slopes between c. 1000 and 2100m (pers. obs.) from northern
Colombia (Hilty & Brown 1986) south to Cuzco, Peru (pers. obs.). The
upper subtropical and temperate forests from NW Venezuela south to
Amazonas, Peru, are occupied by C. pollens (Powerful Woodpecker;
Meyer de Schauensee 1966). Thus, from Depto. Cuzco south, humid
montane forest lacks other Campephilus, apparently allowing C.
rubricollis to occupy a greater elevational range than possible elsewhere.
We do not know if C. rubricollis displays this expanded elevational
distribution in the area between Cuzco, Peru, and central Bolivia,
where relatively little field work at pertinent elevations has been
conducted, although four specimens in LSUMZ from the area between
Depto. Pasco, Peru, and Prov. Chapare, CO, range in elevation from
1050 to 1350 m (J. V. Remsen in Iitt.).

PLAIN-MANTLED TIT-SPINETAIL Leptasthenura aegithaloides*

CO: On 18 Mar 1992, BMW and JLR observed a single bird along
the main highway W from Cochabamba toward Oruro, between the
villages of Lampaya and Pongo at c. 4000 m. Habitat at this site was
rocky slopes and cliffs with a sparse growth of Festuca sp. grass and

B. M. Whitney et al. 156 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

widely scattered, low shrubs. The bird responded to tape playback of
the song and calls from Salta, Argentina. The individual we saw had
lost its tail, but we noted the tiny, thin bill; unstreaked, greyish-brown
back; faintly streaked crown; narrow, whitish superciliary; and
essentially unmarked, greyish underparts. This is the first report of L.
aegithaloides from CO.

STREAK-THROATED CANASTERO Asthenes humilis

CO: On 24 and 25 Oct 1982, RAR and S. L. Hilty observed and
RAR tape-recorded a Streak-throated Canastero at c. 4200 m on Cerro
Tunari above Quillacollo. On 26 Feb, and on 14 Mar 1992, BMW and
JLR observed a single bird at c. 4250 m on Cerro Tunari. These are the
first records of A. humilis from CO.

SPOTTED-BREASTED THORNBIRD Phacellodomus maculipectus

CO: Remsen & ‘Traylor (1989) cited Peters (1951) for documentation
of the occurrence of this species in CO, but the correct citation is
Chapman (1919) (J. V. Remsen in litt.). This appears to be the only
report of P. maculipectus from CO. On 20 Oct 1984, RAR and S. L.
Hilty observed six birds and several nests near El Choro, 2940 m. At
least one bird was tape-recorded for documentation. Since then, P.
maculipectus has been found at this site regularly. In Jujuy and Salta,
Argentina, P. maculipectus apparently does not occur, or is certainly not
common, above about 1800m (pers. obs.). This is probably best
explained by the rather marked lowering of the upper limit of humid
forest over less than 2° of latitude as one moves south from central
Bolivia through northwestern Argentina (pers. obs.), rather than by
some form of competitive release in the Bolivian part of the species’
range. We consider montane, forest-based P. maculipectus to be a
species distinct from widely disjunct P. striaticollis of the marshes of
southeastern Brazil south to Prov. Buenos Aires, Argentina, following

Narosky & Yzurieta (1987).

BOLIVIAN RECURVEBILL Simoxenops striatus

BMW and JLR observed two individuals of this little-known
furnariid c. 48 km by road SW Villa Tunari, CO, at c. 1080 m (28 Feb
1992) and 1090 m elevation (29 Feb 1992). In both instances the birds
were foraging with mixed-species flocks of insectivores in the midstory
and subcanopy of humid forest, as reported by Parker et al. (1992) for
some SS. striatus observed in SC. We presented both individuals with
tape-recordings of the song and calls of the closely related and very
similar sounding S. ucayalae (Parker et al. 1992), but this elicited no
response. We noted the peculiar, upturned lower mandible on both S.
striatus we observed, in addition to the bright, rufous-orange throat,
conspicuously ochre-streaked crown (back not seen), and the blurry
streaking on the underparts. Prior to our records, S. striatus was known
in CO from one specimen collected by M. A. Carriker, at Palmar,

800 m, in July 1937 (Collar et al. 1992).

MONTANE FOLIAGE-GLEANER Anabacerthia striaticollis*
SC: On 16 Feb 1992, in P. N. Ambor6 (c. 13 km by road NE of
Mairana, above La Yunga; 1850-1950m), BMW observed two

B. M. Whitney et al. 157 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

individuals of this species foraging with miuxed-species flocks of
insectivores in the subcanopy of humid forest. These sight records
represent the first report of A. striaticollis from SC, and the
southernmost for the species.

SCALED ANTPITTA Grallaria guatimalensis

CO: Remsen & Traylor (1989) listed this antpitta for CO on the basis
of a sight record reported by Parker & Rowlett (1984). On 2 Nov 1983,
RAR tape-recorded and saw a Scaled Antpitta at c. 1480 m along the
road between Tablas Monte and Villa Tunari, Prov. Chapare. This is
the first documented record for G. guatimalensis in CO, and apparently
the southernmost record in its wide distribution.

RUFOUS-FACED ANTPITTA Grallaria erythrotis

SC: Remsen & Traylor (1989) listed G. erythrotis for SC on the basis
of a sight record by Parker & Rowlett (1984) in the Serrania de Siberia.
Although it was not reported previously, RAR tape-recorded a G.
erythrotis at this locality at 2515 m on 18 Oct 1979. Observations over
the past several years have revealed that G. erythrotis is quite common
in the Serrania de Siberia.

OLIVE-CROWNED CRESCENTCHEST Melanopareia maximiliant

CO: RAR and S. L. Hilty observed, and RAR tape-recorded, this
species at a nest near El Choro, 2940 m, on 20 Oct 1984. The nest was
“in fine yellow bunchgrass: a tunnel 4 inches long lined with thicker
grass. The male sang repeatedly from near the nest’’ (description from
RAR field notes). This is the first documented record of M. maximiliant
from CO.

GREY ELAENIA Myiopagis caniceps*

SC: BMW heard and saw a pair of M. caniceps with a small
mixed-species flock of insectivores in semihumid forest at c. 1075 m in
the valley of the Rio Bermejo near the village or Bermejo on 9 Mar
1993. This sighting is one of only a few records for Bolivia, and is
apparently only the second report for SC (Remsen & Traylor 1989).

HAZEL-FRONTED PYGMY-TYRANT Pseudotriccus simplex*

SC: A single P. simplex was observed at c. 2515 m in the Serrania de
Siberia, 18 Oct 1984, by RAR and S. L. Hilty. This individual
responded to playback of a tape recording made at 1480 m in Prov.
Chapare, CO, and was seen well. This is the first report of P. simplex
from SC, and represents both an unusually high elevational record and
the southernmost record for the species.

SLATY-BACKED CHAT-TYRANT Ochthoeca cinnamomeiventris

SC: O. cinnamomeiventris is listed for SC by Remsen & Traylor
(1989) on the basis of a sight record by Parker & Rowlett (1984) from
the Serrania de Siberia, 8 Oct 1983. This pair of birds was actually
tape-recorded on 8 Oct 1983 by RAR, providing the first documented

B. M. Whitney et al. 158 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

occurrence of O. cinnamomeiventris in SC, and the southernmost record
for the species.

VARIEGATED FLYCATCHER Empidonomus varius*

CO: A migrant individual observed by BMW and JLR at c. 2850 m
on the slopes of Cerro Tunari above Quillacollo on 14 Mar 1992 was at
an unusually high elevation for the species (pers. obs.). Fjeldsa &
Krabbe (1990) cited only one record (Oct in Ancash, Peru) for the
“high Andes’’.

CROWNED SLATY FLYCATCHER Empidonomus aurantioatrocristatus*

CO: A migrant individual observed by BMW and JLR near Puente
Lopez Medoza on 13 Mar 1992, at c. 2830 m, was at an unusually high
elevation for the species (pers. obs.). E. aurantioatrocristatus was not
treated by Fjeldsa & Krabbe (1990) as occurring in the “‘high Andes’’.

FORK-TAILED FLYCATCHER Tyrannus savanna*

OR: on 20 Mar 1992, two individuals were seen migrating north a
few km SW of Caracollo at c. 3760 m (JLR, BMW). This sight record
represents the first for OR and an unusual occurrence on the Bolivian
altiplano.

BARRED BECARD Pachyramphus versicolor

LP: J. V. Remsen, Jr. (in litt.) observed a pair of P. versicolor c. 1 km
below Sacramento Alto in July 1979. At least two individuals were
heard and seen along the road to Coroico at Sacramento Alto, c.
2500 m, on 22 Mar 1992 and 23 Mar 1993 (BMW). One individual was
tape-recorded for documentation. These are the first records for LP.

SC: Several individuals were heard and seen in the Serrania de
Siberia 3, 4, 11 and 12 Mar 1992 and 11 Mar 1993, at elevations
ranging from c. 2500 to 2780 m (BMW, JLR). At least two individuals
were tape-recorded for documentation. These are the first records for
SC, and the southernmost for the species.

RED-CRESTED COTINGA Ampelion rubrocristatus

SC: Several individuals were heard and seen in the Serrania de
Siberia on 4, 11 and 12 Mar 1992, and 11 and 13 Mar 1993 between
c. 2500 and 2800m (BMW, JLR). One or two individuals were
tape-recorded on 4 Mar 1992, and a juvenile was video-recorded on 12
Mar 1992 by Howard Wilson. RAR has sight records from the Serrania
de Siberia from Oct 1979 (with R. S. Ridgely), 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986
and 1987. A. rubrocristatus has not previously been reported from SC,
although it is as generally common in the Serrania de Siberia as it is in
many localities throughout its wide distribution (pers. obs.). The
Serrania de Siberia marks the southernmost point of occurrence for the
species.

CHESTNUT-CRESTED COTINGA Ampelion rufaxilla
SC: Several individuals were heard and seen in the Serrania de

Siberia on 3, 11 and 12 Mar 1992, and 13 Mar 1993 between c. 2480

B. M. Whitney et al. 159 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

and 2800 m (BMW, JLR). An adult was extensively tape-recorded on 3
Mar. The birds were vocal, especially in 1992, and an independent
juvenile, in close proximity to an adult, was observed. For much of the
half hour that we observed this adult and juvenile, the latter perched
quietly on a dead branch emerging from the crown of a tall tree along a
ridge. Numerous mosquitoes were hovering around the bird, and
appeared to be attempting to land on its head. As the mosquitoes
approached closely, the juvenile cotinga deftly snapped several of them
out of the air and swallowed them, one at a time. The adult and juvenile
(including this behaviour) were video-recorded by Howard Wilson, and
the adult was tape-recorded. Curiously, a juvenile A. rubrocristatus
appeared to be associated with the adult and juvenile A. rufaxilla,
following their general movements and staying close to them. No other
A. rubrocristatus were seen in the vicinity. This appears to be one of
very few localities at which these two species of Ampelion are both fairly
common (pers. obs.), although neither had been reported from SC
previously. These establish the first records of A. rufaxilla for SC, and
the southernmost for the species.

CO: The first record for CO was recently reported as a specimen
collected by S. Arias and J. Fjeldsa from Prov. Chapare (Inca Chaca)
near Tablas Monte, 2600 m, on 17 Oct 1991 (Davis et al. 1994). RAR
and R. S. Ridgely saw, and RAR tape-recorded, one A. rufaxilla at this
same locality on 21 Oct 1979. Subsequently, RAR has found A.
rufaxilla to be regular in this area, with records in the latter half of Oct

1983, 1984, 1986, 1987 and 1990.

BAND-TAILED FRUITEATER Pipreola intermedia

SC: A single adult male was observed at c. 2780 m in the Serrania de
Siberia on 12 Mar 1992. The bird was observed closely for several
minutes as it perched low in a shrub at the edge of disturbed montane
forest, and was photographed. This is the first record of P. intermedia
from SC, and the southernmost for the species.

BARRED FRUITEATER Pipreola arcuata

SC: Several individuals and pairs of this distinctive fruiteater were
heard and seen in the Serrania de Siberia on 3, 4, 11 and 12 Mar 1992,
and 11 Mar 1993 between c. 2680 and 2800 m. Several of these were
tape-recorded. These are the first reports from SC, and mark the
southern terminus in this species’ wide distribution.

BANK SWALLOW Riparia riparia

OR: The only previous report of this swallow from OR is a sight
record by RAR and T. A. Parker III at Lago Uru-uru, 3700 m, on 16
Oct 1983 (Parker & Rowlett 1984). The earliest sighting for OR of
which we are aware was 24 Oct 1979, when RAR and R. S. Ridgely saw
three at Lago Uru-uru. Subsequently, RAR and colleagues have seen
small numbers of Bank Swallows at Uru-uru in Oct over several years.
On 19 Mar 1992, BMW and JLR observed four at Lago Uru-uru, at
least one of which was video-recorded by Howard Wilson as it perched

B. M. Whitney et al. 160 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

on a utility wire with several Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica. This is
apparently the first documented record of R. riparia in OR.

BARN SWALLOW Hirundo rustica

OR: Remsen & Traylor (1989) list only a sight record for this
swallow in OR. We noted at least 20 H. rustica at Lago Uru-uru on 19
Mar 1992, and Howard Wilson video-recorded several perched on a
utility wire over the lake. Although there are many sight records, this
apparently constitutes the first documented record for H. rustica in OR.

SLATY FINCH Haplospiza rustica*

SC: Remsen et al. (1985) reported the only record of this enigmatic
finch from SC as a specimen collected “30 km W Comarapa, 8200 ft’’,
a locality that these authors place in the Serrania de Siberia. On 16 Feb
1992, BMW observed a pair on the ground along the edge of a trail
through humid montane forest in P. N. Amboro, c. 22 km by road NE
of Mariana, above La Yunga, at c. 2200 m. The male was uniformly
dark slaty grey, very slightly paler ventrally. The female was much
browner dorsally and had generally dirty whitish underparts, with
conspicuous brownish streaks on the breast and upper belly. Both sexes
had the rather thin, sharply pointed bill typical of H. rustica. This sight
record represents a slight range extension to the south, and the
southernmost point of occurrence for the species.

BOLIVIAN WARBLING-FINCH Poospiza boliviana

SC: The first record of which we are aware occurred on 7 Oct 1982,
when RAR watched a single P. boliviana drinking and bathing in a
small pool of water in an arid canyon at c. 1575 m near Tambo. At c.
07.00 hrs on 11 Mar 1993 BMW and JLR found at least three male P.
boliviana singing from the twiggy tops of shrubs in disturbed roadside
brush at c. 2640 m along the road from Comarapa to Torrecillas and the
Serrania de Siberia. Two other Poospiza, hypochondria (Rufous-sided
Warbling-finch) and whitia (Black-and-chestnut Warbling-finch), occur
syntopically with boliviana at this site; we know of no other locality at
which the latter has been found alongside boliviana. One individual P.
boliviana was tape-recorded extensively. This represents the first
documented report of this Bolivian endemic from SC.

LESSON’S SEEDEATER Sporophila bouvronides*

SC: This seedeater breeds in northern South America (northeastern
Colombia east through the Guianas) between about May and Nov,
migrating south as far as Amazonian Brazil in Dec-Apr (Schwartz
1975). On 6 Mar 1992, BMW and JLR observed a group of four male

S. bouvronides (possibly some females present as well) in tall grasses

about 20km E of Montero along the road to Okinawa. These birds —
were studied in detail for several minutes, and we noted the

conspicuous, triangular, white malar patch surrounded by black, and —
that their crowns were completely black, lacking the broad white stripe
that characterizes the closely related Lined Seedeater S. lineola. In
addition, we noted that the S. bouvronides showed an admixture of

|

B. M. Whitney et al. 161 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

black and white feathers on the sides of the breast, rather than the clean
white of /ineola. As there were several small flocks of S. lineola close to
(but separate from) the four S. bouvronides, we were able to make
immediate comparisons of plumage. Although S. bouvronides has not
been reported from Bolivia previously, its occurrence in the grasslands
of eastern Bolivia is not surprising. This area of Bolivia has received
relatively much less attention from ornithologists during the wet season
(approximately Dec—Apr) than during the dry months, owing to
difficulty of access and hampered mobility during the wet season. ‘That
S. bouvronides should be found side-by-side with S. lineola in eastern
Bolivia is mirrored by sympatry in these species in northern South
America, after S. lineola has finished breeding and migrated north to
pass the austral winter (Schwartz 1975). Our sighting of S. bouvronides
near Montero is the first report from Bolivia, and the southernmost for
the species.

GOLDEN-COLLARED TANAGER Iridosornis jelskii*

CO: This beautiful tanager was noted with mixed-species flocks on
15 Mar 1992 (3200 m) and 15 Mar 1993 (3180 m) in humid temperate
forest along the main highway between Cochabamba and Villa Tunari
(BMW, JLR). These sight records represent the first reports for CO,
and the southernmost for the species.

Acknowledgements

We thank Howard Wilson and William Maynard for making video recordings and
photographs of several birds. We are grateful to J. V. Remsen, Jr. for his helpful
comments on the manuscript, and for advice in general. We are indebted to all of the
participants on our tours who made possible our field work in Bolivia.

References:

Chapman, F. M. 1919. Descriptions of proposed new birds from Peru, Bolivia, Brazil,
and Colombia. Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 32: 253-268.

Collar, N. J., Gonzaga, L. P., Krabbe, N., Nieto, A. M., Naranjo, L. G., Parker, T. A.
& Wege, D. C. 1992. Threatened Birds of the Americas. International Council for
Bird Preservation. Cambridge, U.K.

Davis, S. E., Rocha, O. O., Sarmiento, J. & Hanagarth, W. 1994. New departmental
records and notes for some Bolivian birds Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 114: 73-85.

Davis, S. E. 1993. Seasonal status, relative abundance, and behavior of the birds of
Concepcion, Departamento Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Fieldiana, new series no. 71.
Fjeldsa & Krabbe, N. 1990. Birds of the High Andes. Apollo Books, Svendborg,

Denmark.

Hilty, S. L. & Brown, W. L. 1986. A Guide to the Birds of Colombia. Princeton Univ.
Press.

Meyer de Schauensee, R. 1966. The Species of Birds of South America. Livingston Publ.
Co., Narberth, Pennsylvania.

Narosky, T. & Yzurieta, D. 1987. Avres de Argentina y Uruguay. Asociacién Ornitolégica
del Plata, Buenos Aires.

Parker, T. A. & Rowlett, R. W. 1984. Some noteworthy records of birds from Bolivia.
Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 104: 110-113.

Parker, T. A., Bates, J. M. & Cox, G. 1992. Rediscovery of the Bolivian Recurvebill with
notes on other little-known species of the Bolivian Andes. Wilson Bull. 104: 173-177.

Peters, J. L. 1951. Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 7. Museum of Comparative
Zoology, Harvard.

A. R. Phillips 162 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

Remsen, J. V., Traylor, M. A. & Parkes, K. C. 1985. Range extensions for some Bolivian
birds, 1 (Tinamiformes to Charadruformes). Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 105: 124-130.
Remsen, J. V. & Traylor, M. A. 1989. An Annotated List of the Birds of Bolivia. Buteo

Books, Vermillion, South Dakota.

Remsen, J. V. & Cardiff, S. W. 1990. Patterns of elevational and latitudinal distribution,
including a “‘niche switch’’ in some guans (Cracidae) of the Andes. Condor 92:
970-981.

Schmitt, C. G., Schmitt, D. C., Remsen, J. V. & Glick, B. D. 1986. New bird records for
departamento Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Hornero 12: 307-311.

Schwartz, P. 1975. Solved and unsolved problems in the Sporophila lineola bouvronides
complex. Ann. Carnegie Mus. 45: 277-285.

Short, L. 1982. Woodpeckers of the World. Delaware Mus. Nat. Hist., Monogr. no. 4.

Addresses: All authors: Field Guides Incorporated, P.O. Box 160723, Austin, Texas
78716, U.S.A.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994

A review of the northern Pheucticus grosbeaks

by Allan R. Phillips
Received 13 Fuly 1993

The essential unity and interdependence of biological data are well
illustrated by migratory birds like the North American Pheucticus
grosbeaks. Species limits depend not only on structure and colours, but
also on life histories (including nests and eggs), ecology, habits,
vocalizations and responses thereto, and the attendant frequency of
crossing. In assessing geographic races, times of migration may mislead
us.

Adult males of the black, red, and white eastern Rose-breasted
Grosbeak Pheucticus ludovicianus cannot be confused with the mainly
black, brown, and yellow western and southern Black-headed Grosbeak
P. ‘“‘melanocephalus’’. Almost unanimously they have been called
distinct species. Breeding in ‘Temperate woodlands, their main summer
ranges are widely separated by the mostly-herbaceous Great Plains. But
along rivers, crosses or hybrids were known, and have proven common
in at least one area: ‘““‘Both members of the pair were hybrid in 64% of
the cases’”’ (Anderson & Daugherty 1974: 6, vs. p. 9). Similarity of voice
and biology led us (Phillips et al. 1964) to unite the forms as ““Common
Grosbeak’’ P. ludovicianus, with each retaining its established English
name. Though P. Unitt (in litt.) finds a vocal difference, I have not
perceived it, and surely the resemblances are more striking.

But melanocephalus is still called a species or “‘semispecies’’. Some
authors (Paynter 1970: 219; Anderson & Daugherty 1974: 9) consider
that forms are conspecific only if interbreeding is completely random.
Others (Cracraft 1983, etc.; Rising 1983; recommended for “serious
consideration”? by American Ornithologists’ Union [A.O.U.] 1983: xix)
call all populations with ‘“‘separate evolutionary histories’? species.
(How many of these ‘“‘phylogenetic species’? of Homo ride any large
city’s metro or subway train?)

A. R. Phillips 163 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

Seeing no valid evidence that these grosbeaks are good biological
species, I now suggest the comprehensive species be called
Black-hooded Grosbeak—a name appropriate to both forms and very
similar to one’s name. It is not in use elsewhere and should not cause
confusion—especially if the classic ‘“‘Abeillé’s Grosbeak”’ is restored to
Coccothraustes (Hesperiphona) abeillei, bringing its scientific and
English names again into agreement. But I again urge continued use of
Rose-breasted and Black-headed Grosbeak, Myrtle and Audubon’s
Warblers, Baltimore and Bullock’s Orioles, Slate-colored and Oregon
Juncos, etc. Even at the risk of mistaking an occasional individual,
especially if aberrant (Paxton et al. 1976: 46), science should not retreat
from clarity and precision.

Geographic variation: problems and needs

In migratory animals, accurate analysis of geographic variation
requires distinguishing locally breeding individuals from non-breeding
migrants. American birds were long thought to move gradually, so that
by May northern breeders would have left Mexico, etc. (see for
example van Rossem 1931). This simple idea is often wrong; see
Phillips (1951, 1986, 1991), particularly on Catharus spp. It was well
disproved, for numerous species, by the extensive researches of the
University of Minnesota group in southeastern Veracruz, summarized
by Ramos (1983).

We showed (Phillips et al. 1964) that Pheucticus’s migrations almost
span the summer. Thus whether individuals are breeding locally must
be determined by behaviour, ecology, state of gonads, amount of fat,
and in other species moult. One cannot safely assume even mid-June to
early July Pheucticus to be local breeders without biological data. Were
such data on labels, van Rossem (1931: 292) might not have written
that “The Saric series [=13 specimens from northernmost Mexico, 11
May to 13 Aug.] is, as a whole, certainly referable to the small-billed
form. Only those from Saric are breeding birds.” But there are no pine
woods near Saric; if scattered grosbeaks do breed there, they would
surely be of the larger-billed form that breeds nearby at higher altitudes
in Arizona. Griscom (1934: 411) was evidently similarly confused:
“Breeding specimens from Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas and Guerrero”’
had bills intermediate between these two forms. (A similar case is that
of the Western Flycatcher Empidonax difficilis [including occidentalis,
etc.]; see Phillips et al. 1964 and Phillips 1991: xxxiii—xxxiv.)

It is thus incumbent on collectors and preparators to minimize later
errors by conscientiously recording habitats and physiological and
other details. Not only sex and age must be recorded as exactly as

possible. See also Winker et al. (1991).

Sex and age variation

Correct determination of age/sex classes is often difficult in worn or
badly shot birds. Many worn female Black-headed Grosbeaks cannot
be sorted by age. Nor are they easily told from young males. These, in
the first basic plumage, seem to differ most consistently by more

A. R. Phillips 164 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

extensive, visible whitish bases to the (outer) primaries and more tawny
in the rump (less plain greyish fuscous). (Females average more
streaked below, and nearly all have clear white superciliaries.)

Males with top and sides of head wholly black are not necessarily
older than those with striped heads. Young males often approach full
adult body colouration in their first year. A captive, apparently hatched
in 1983, acquired these colours in the spring of 1984, but moulted back
to a striped head late that summer (L. D. Yaeger in Iitt.).

Geographic variation in colour

This is slight or absent in adult male Black-headed Grosbeaks. There
may be tendencies to reduced white in the tail in at least southeastern
Mexico (Veracruz, Oaxaca) and in the middle wing-coverts in Nuevo
Leon; but these would hardly identify migrants. (Some males with less
white in the tail seem to be subadults.)

The scarcer useful material of other age/sex classes also shows
little variation over most of the range. But the few breeding females
from central Mexico (Morelos, probably west to Guanajuato) are
more blackish above, with these markings more extensive; and the
one from Nuevo Leon (DEL 23481) is decidedly the brightest yel-
low on the breast (medially) and upper belly. Similarly, immature
males from northeastern Mexico show at least a tendency to deep,
bright colouration below. Further collecting and careful study are
needed; some yellow tones on the head seem to fade rapidly in the
museum.

Size

General size (chord of wing, tail, and weight) averages larger in the
Rocky Mountain region than in California, but with wide overlap
(Table 1). Most authors see no taxonomic value here; it hardly warrants
calling Rocky Mountain birds “larger, particularly of wing, tail, and
bill’ (Aldrich, in Jewett et al. 1953: 598, without measurements).
Northeastern Mexican birds are no larger, and indeed may average
shorter in extent (wing-span), but they are evidently somewhat heavier.
This agrees with their swollen bills and presumably larger heads.

The smallest birds, in the southernmost populations (southern
Oaxaca and Guerrero), may prove separable if further collecting of
definitely breeding birds reinforces their distinctness and shows
differences in weight and/or skeletal measurements.

Present recognition of subspecies rests entirely on bill size. But most
of this variation is somewhat mosaic, not clinal. No sooner did Grinnell
name a smaller-billed race from California than Ridgway (1901: 620)
synonymized it. Miller (1957: 332) upheld it “‘in view of the prevailing
large-billed characteristics of the breeding birds (K-d) [=RTM] of the
Mexican mainland’. But this was over-simplified. ‘The Moore
collection is especially rich in birds from Sinaloa, where the breeding
grosbeaks are indeed rather large-billed; but even a hasty visit, in 1964,
showed me that 5 breeding males from Cerro Teotepec, Guerrero, were

‘Os[eply ‘SG Wodsz are [Iq MosIeU pue Burm y10Ys ayi "BOBXBQC) “D) PUB ZNAOKIAA 0} OOIXITA[ JO a1¥Ig pUk OF[epIFy ‘Ss ‘|
‘Te, ‘Sny ‘dag ‘epinyeod juecelpe pue uoa] oaany “y

‘oys HW pey FSC] Vqipurew YM suo f

‘paso]s Aj1odorduur sjjtq aavy 6S] pue 7S] yidap YM SoTBUI OMT, ‘I

‘sedijnewey, ‘¢ ‘aavumel 0} epmyeog *¢ ‘y

‘UISYYWON “Y [ apy tisquersiyyy °3

‘pasos Ayiodosduur sjjrq aavy ApUaprAa 6+] pur /"F] yidap yuUAM sajeut OM], *j

“UIOM JLYMIUWOS ©, SNID]NIVU,, IO YNpegns A[qeqoi1d sauo payiey-i10ys ayy, ‘3

‘ SNDNIVU,, JURISIUL ATJUSpIAD ‘SNW | ‘1aaueq UI prap punog ‘p

‘aseq 7@ YIPIM WUNUITXR]Ay “O

‘xodv rvyeur 0} ‘Aqyeseq ‘ey[rxeur yo doy wosy yydaq ‘q

“YIMOIS ajo[duroouT 10 ‘advuep ‘1e9M sajeorpuT}4 ‘se. Aq YO JS 91v syUsWIAINSvaW (¢) [eUOdsOX| “eB

Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

SA1O NT
_.— eee
LUG ZI-lé — ]6 01 FI-L ZI bI-7el =lé+]61-81 “21 +2 82-le F]bL «= 7 66-Lk F JL €6 — synpe ‘oratany *¢

Ll +l Sanpe
Gl =Col 6201) (Gla EIS CER-ECL Glacaee “28'S +81-6'9T S O8-9ZL [i+] $°'ZOI-86 ‘S'+6 L ‘OOIXITT “A'S 02°C

ra Sern eUIUUT
= CTE PEC lee Sal ee CaCl, cIsC eG IT SEC TSCsEL 8 Sib Setsaall LaSile Sel t 6L-S'8ZL OOT-86 § ‘SNIDAISOL “]

yStnpe
rb ci-cl CISC CE Ob Ste eo SL Lb] 76I-V'8L ‘8ST C8-8ZL S FOI-TOL + “SNIDAISOA “]

ssynpe
ae ays are a == ae +01-96 ‘+6 ‘+6 é “RIUIOFTRD °S

$'Sg S40] $9.1} BUT
ro = aaa a aR “‘18-S°LL ‘+9L “bO1-S'66 ‘L6 Ol ‘Ope1o[oD

S90T
LCl=Gla9 a Srl H1-9°2l GOL 3S VI-S ET 81-9] SE€8-8Z ‘(¢9Z) ‘901-S'TOT FAS AO)! synpe ‘oprsojoy
a an a ee a ee ee ee ee a eee ee
54dpim sAuos [-Qsou wo.ly quidep usuu[no [IR], paoyo u adv ‘U0ISaY
pesodxo BUI
eS a ees ee
Ia

SS ee Se Se eS eS ES eS

y[B9QSOIL) pepeey- xorg oy eu jo (vu) SJUIUTIINSBITAT

LT aTaVviL

A. R. Phillips

A. R. Phillips 166 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

TABLE 2
Weights (g) of normal Black-headed Grosbeaks*
Region and source Males (7) Females (n)
Colorado (mostly M. K. 41.9-48.2 (1=51?) (9) 45.6—-50.1; to 51.4 [laying?] (5)
Waddington)

Southern California” 35—46 (18) 37-48.8 (15)
Arizona to Sonora (& Nayarit, 37.3-46.2 (5) 41.6—-44.8 (very fat), 49.5
13), migrants (A. R. (moderately fat) (6)

Phillips)

Durango (R. S. Crossin, 39.5, 48 (2) 44, 46 (2)
DEL; no fat)

Northern Morelos (A. R. — 45.6 (egg just laid) (1)
Phillips; little fat)

‘Nuevo Leon and adjacent 48.6, 49.3, 50.5[—] (3) 54 (1)
Coahuila®

a. Weights considered reliable; birds with little or no fat, save as noted.

b. Probably includes fat birds; ex J. Sheppard & C. Collins, fide Western Bird-Banding
Association 1971.

c. Males young, June, March, and August, A. R. Phillips; female May, ova to 2 mm,
no fat, R. S. Crossin, DEL.

decidedly smaller. In 4 the gonys was at least 0.5 mm shorter than in 4
of 5 breeding males from northeastern Sinaloa (the fifth was a
first-yearmale). Ridgway (1901) found Mexican females to be smallest,
also, but whether these were breeding is uncertain.

Other central and southern Mexican populations are also small-
billed. Birds of Michoacan seem particularly small, and should be
compared to Tlaxcala specimens (MEXU). But Idaho males are not
large-billed, whereas 3 females from Shasta County, California (US),
are. Thus from southern and western Mexico north and west,
small-billed populations are spaced too irregularly to recognize
maculatus.

The above comparisons apply to adults. Heavy bills require some
time to reach full size (see for example Parkes 1974: 458). It was thus
surprising that even quite young males from northeastern Mexico had
distinctly larger bills than any birds from elsewhere.

Bill szzge is not simply a matter of length and depth. Volume or
swelling is apparent to careful, open-eyed inspection, whether or not it
is easily and consistently measured by different persons with different
calipers. Nature’s truths are seen by close inspection—in this case
direct comparisons—not by discarding perception in favour of statistics
or other fads.

Subspecies

Through 1910 the Black-headed Grosbeak was generally considered
monotypic. Then Oberholser (1919) separated Ridgway’s largest birds
(Arizona to Wyoming) as Hedymeles m. papago. A.O.U. (1931) accepted
this, but gave it no winter range; while H. m. melanocephalus wintered

A. R. Phillips 167 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

to Chiapas (where in fact Black-headed Grosbeaks remain unrecorded;
Alvarez del Toro 1980).

In 1932 and 1934 van Rossem transferred the name melanocephalus to
the larger race; Kinnear informed him that the bill of Swainson’s type
was like the larger of two (unspecified) adult males that van Rossem had
sent. Kinnear’s bill measurements van Rossem called “‘intermediate’’;
but in fact the only one comparable to Ridgway’s (exposed culmen)
agreed exactly with Ridgway’s average of the smaller (California)
males. (Van Rossem’s later measurement was of the “‘total culmen”’ of
most ornithologists, not their “exposed culmen’’).

Later check-lists (A.O.U. 1957, Miller 1957, Paynter 1970)
accordingly called the smaller Pacific birds maculatus (Audubon),
named from western Oregon. (It supposedly wintered south to Maitla,
central Oaxaca.) But as noted by Paynter, this was “‘a very weak race’’.
The slightly larger-billed birds of the southern Rocky Mountains and
northwestern Mexico merely approach somewhat.

Pheucticus ludovicianus rostratus subsp. nov.

Description. Bill largest; typically, both mandible and maxilla are
more swollen than other races. Colours as in melanocephalus, but female
and immature apparently brightest below, most richly coloured. Body
larger (heavier)?

Distribution. Breeds (mainly resident?) in the oak-pine mountains of
Nuevo Leon and adjacent states (Coahuila, Tamaulipas), northeastern
Mexico. In winter to lower levels and to southeasternmost Tamaulipas
(Tampico, AMNH; casually?) and probably south in mountains to
western Veracruz and Guerrero (see below).

Type. First-year male, southeast of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon (near
south foot of Cerro de la Silla at Rancho El Mezcal, c. 10 km east of El
Canelo; thus east of Presa R. Go6mez= Presa de la Boca); 6 March 1982.

Measurements of type. Length (extreme, in flesh) 212, extent 311,
wings (chord) 99.5 & 100.5, tail 78.5, exposed culmen 18.7, bill from
nostril 13.5, depth at anterior edge of nostril 13, depth to malar apex
15.3, gonys 12.1, maximum width of mandible (at base) 13 mm. Weight
49.3 g, very little fat. Skull apparently fully ossified.

Material examined. Nuevo Leon: adult males, Mesa de Chipinque,
above Monterrey, 8 February and 28 March; ‘‘Boquillo”’, 3 & 4 June;
“San Pedro Mines’’, 10 May. Immature males, mountains south of
Monterrey, 15 September; southeast of Monterrey (type), 6 March.
Female, westernmost Nuevo Leon, 8 May. Tamaulipas: adult male,
Jaumave, 6 June. Male, ‘Victoria’, 19 April. Female, Tampico, 18
December Coahuila: adult male, Sierra de Guadalupe, 27 April (not
typical?). Immature males, easternmost and northernmost Coahuila, 9
August & 7 September. See also Remarks.

Remarks. Breeding birds of southwestern Texas (Davis Mts.,
especially AMNH) seem variable; the northern Coahuila (Sierra del
Carmen; US) male would doubtless be rostratus when grown. (In the
westernmost bird, from Sierra de Guadalupe, the base of the mandible
was shot.)

A. R. Phillips 168 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

A first-year male from La Joya de Salas, southern Tamaulipas, with
a long but less swollen bill (DEL), may indicate the southern limit of
rostratus influence. Otherwise all Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas birds
seen are rostratus except an apparent migrant male, March (Cerro de la
Silla, near Monterrey; US).

‘The Guerrero female, moulting heavily on head and neck (southeast
of Chilpancingo, April), is decidedly duller than the Nuevo Leén
female, an adult; its bill is also smaller, but it seems to be a first-year
bird. It will probably prove to be within the range of variation of
rostratus, as its bill is near the size of Nuevo Leon (and Jaumave) males.

The Veracruz male (immature, south of Altogonga, 4 Jan.; DEL)
resembles melanocephalus with a wide mandible (13.2 mm at base), but
was very heavy (55 g; little fat). If the bill is full-grown, it is probably
intermediate.

In collections from south of Tamaulipas, rostratus should naturally
be scarce. Even if largely or wholly migratory, its total populations are
far smaller than those of melanocephalus and ‘“‘maculatus’’.

Migrations. Rocky Mountain region birds commonly migrate farther
south than do their relatives on the Pacific slope or in Mexico.
Logically, early grosbeak specimens (including various types) from
central Mexico would have bills like Rocky Mountain birds (van
Rossem 1934). I have seen such birds from south to beyond
Chilpancingo, Guerrero (fat male adult, 6 May, San Roque, near
Acahuizotla; wing 105 [some wear]; CANA). The southeastern limits of
migrants are in Oaxaca, as a “‘Rare winter visitant in Atlantic Region,
and doubtless elsewhere’’ (Binford 1989). I have not seen these
specimens.

If Pacific maculatus were recognized, its migrations would be
problematical, due to the small breeding birds of central and southern
Mexico. But the small-billed Idaho birds, with long wings (adult males
106.2, 106.5; DEL), doubtless migrate far south.

In summary, knowledge of grosbeaks’ biology, mating, vocalizations,
ecology, and migrations is essential. Over-rigid species concepts,
reliance on dates and general localities, and poorly labelled material
have misled authors in general at both levels of species and subspecies.
Rose-breasted and Black-headed Grosbeaks form a single biological
species; an appropriate name would be Black-hooded Grosbeak, which
would be appropriate for both rose-breasted and black-headed forms,
as well as for individuals not typical of either.

Variation in colour and size, including bill size, is too slight or
geographically irregular, in most of the range of the Black-headed
Grosbeak, to form recognizable races, at least on presently available
material. The only exception is the swollen-billed race of northeastern
Mexico (possibly heaviest and, in females and immatures, brightest
below), here named rostratus; it may or may not be largely resident.
Birds breeding in southern Mexico may prove separable. Slight colour
differences between females and young males are pointed out.
Supposed migration from Pacific U.S.A. to Chiapas is erroneous, and
to Oaxaca dubious.

A. R. Phillips 169 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

Acknowledgements

Besides the Denver Museum of Natural History, I have examined grosbeaks over the
years in a number of collections, thanks to the cooperation of their authorities and
owners. Most importantly, these include the American Museum of Natural History
(AMNH); Delaware Museum of Natural History (DEL); Instituto de Biologia,
Universidad Nacional Aut6noma de México (MEXU); Moore Laboratory of Zoology,
Occidental College, Los Angeles (RTM); San Diego Natural History Museum,
California; and U.S. National Museum of Natural History (US). Additional specimens
were measured for me by K. A. Arnold and J. R. Northern. Northern, M.F. Carter, and
M. K. Waddington supplied weight data. Weights taken by R. S. Crossin (DEL) were of
special interest.

Specimens were lent by the late J. S. Rowley and Texas Tech University, and in my
final studies at Denver (1991) by Delaware and U.S. National Museums. Mainly,
however, I relied on my own series, now partially in the Canadian Museum of Nature
(CANA); I was helped in assembling this by H. Garcia F., R. Phillips F., S. Romero H.,
A. M. Sada, and J. S. Weske. To all of these I extend my thanks; also to L. D. Yaeger,
who informed me of a quite unexpected moult, as above. For helpful comments on the
manuscript I thank C. R. Preston, D. W. Snow and P. Unitt.

References:

Alvarez del Toro, M. 1980. Las Aves de Chiapas. Segunda edicion, corregida y aumentada,
Universidad Aut6noma de Chiapas, Tuxtla Gutiérrez.

American Ornithologists’ Union (A.O.U.). 1931. Check-list of North American Birds, 4th
edn. A.O.U., Washington, D.C.

A.O.U. 1957. Idem, 5th edn.

A.O.U. 1983. Idem, 6th edn.

Anderson B. W. & Daugherty, R. J. 1974. Characteristics and reproductive biology of
grosbeaks (Pheucticus) in the hybrid zone in South Dakota. Wilson Bull. 86: 1-11 &
col. frontisp.

Binford, L. C. 1989. A Distributional Survey of the Birds of the Mexican state of Oaxaca.
Orn. Monogr. no. 43, A.O.U.

Cracraft, J. 1983. Species concepts and speciation analysis. Current Ornithology 1:
159-187.

Griscom, L. 1934. The ornithology of Guerrero, Mexico. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 75:
367-422.

Jewett, S. G., Taylor, W. P., Shaw, W. T. & Aldrich, J. W. 1953. Birds of Washington
state. Univ. Washington Press.

Miller, A. H. 1957. Distributional Check-list of the Birds of Mexico. Part II. Pac. Coast
Avtfauna 33: 312-402.

Oberholser, H. C. 1919. The Geographic races of Hedymeles melanocephalus Swainson.
Auk 36: 408-416.

Parkes, K. C. 1974. Systematics of the White-throated Towhee (Pipilo albicollis). Condor
76: 457-459.

Paxton, R. O., Buckley, P. A. & Cutler, D. A. 1976. The fall migration, August
1—November 30, 1975—Hudson—Delaware region. Amer. Birds 30: 39-46.

Paynter, R. A., Jr. 1970. Subfamily Emberizinae. Pp. 3-214 in R. A. Paynter, Jr. (ed.),
Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 13. Mus. Comp. Zool., Harvard.

Phillips, A. R. 1951. Complexities of migration: a review. Wilson Bull. 63: 129-136.

Phillips, A. R. 1986. The Known Birds of North and Middle America. Part I. Published by
the author, Denver, Colorado.

Phillips, A. R. 1991. Idem. Part II.

Phillips, A., Marshall, J. & Monson, G. 1964. The Birds of Arizona. Univ. Arizona Press.

Ramos, O., M.A. 1983. Seasonal movements of bird populations at a Neotropical study site
in southern Veracruz, Mexico. Ph.D, thesis, Univ. of Minnesota.

Ridgway, R. 1901. The Birds of North and Middle America. Part I. Family
Fringillidae—The Finches. U.S. Natl Mus. Bull. 50, part 1.

Rising, J. D. 1983. The Great Plains hybrid zones. Current Ornithology 1: 131-157.

van Rossem, A. J. 1931. Report on a collection of land birds from Sonora, Mexico. Trans.
San Diego Soc. Nat. Hist. 6: 237-304.

van Rossem, A. J. 1932. The Type of the Black-headed Grosbeak. Auk 49: 489.

M.C.Wimer & C. T. Collins 170 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

van Rossem, A. J. 1934. Notes on some Types of North American birds. Trans. San
Diego Soc. Nat. Hist. 7: 347-362.

Winker, K., Fall, B. A., Klicka, J. T., Parmelee, D. F. & Tordoff, H. B. 1991. The
importance of avian collections and the need for continued collecting. Loon 63:

238-246.

Address: Allan R. Phillips, Dept. of Zoology, Denver Museum of Natural History, City
Park, Denver, Colorado 80205, U.S.A.; present address Reforma 825-A, Col.
Chapultepec, San Nicolas de los Garza 66450, Nuevo Leén, México.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994

Natal pterylosis of some neotropical thrushes
(Muscicapidae: ‘Turdinae)

by Mark C. Wimer & Charles T. Collins
Received 23 Fuly 1993

For many neotropical passerines, there are large gaps in our knowledge
of natal pterylosis. In addition, descriptions of natal downs
(neossoptiles) are often based on examination of small numbers of
specimens (Collins 1990). One way to increase sample sizes is to make
quantitative counts of neossoptiles on living nestlings in the field on an
opportunistic basis, or as part of other studies when collection of
specimens would be disruptive. As part of an ongoing study of natal
pterylosis in neotropical passerines (Collins 1973, Collins & Bender
1977, Collins & McDaniel 1989) we present here data on six species of
turdine thrushes, with a comparison of counts made from preserved
specimens in the lab and living nestlings observed in the field.

Counts of natal downs were made from 13 specimens of four Turdus
thrushes. In addition, field counts were made from two of these four
species of Turdus and two other turdine species. All individuals were in
early stage A of Wetherbee (1957) with no sign of pin feathers erupting.

‘Two specimens of Bare-eyed Thrush Turdus nudigenis from one nest
were collected on 19 July 1964, and six specimens of Cocoa Thrush
T. fumigatus from two nests were collected on 19 May and 18 July
1964, all in the Arima Valley, Trinidad. Two specimens from one nest
of White-throated Thrush T. albicollis were collected on 2 July 1972,
and three specimens of Pale-breasted Thrush T. leuwcomelas from one
nest were collected near Rancho Grande, Estado Aragua, Venezuela.
Specimens were examined under a binocular dissecting microscope and
numbers and distribution of downs recorded (Table 1). Field counts
for all species were made between April and June 1972 near Rancho
Grande on newly hatched chicks as part of a study of growth rates (see
Ricklefs 1976: 206-7). These field counts were made with a hand lens
on 16 chicks of Pale-breasted Thrush, two of White-throated Thrush,
two of Yellow-legged Thrush Platycichla flavipes, and one of Andean
solitaire Myadestes ralloides (‘Table 3).

Total neossoptile counts from specimens ranged from 32 to 112
for individual Turdus nestlings (Table 1), with an average of 61 for

171 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

M. C. Wimer & C. T. Collins

‘UDAIS 91k SaINSY a[Buls ‘smor postedun om} ay} 10g “SOpIs 1J9]/1YS11 UO asoy} aie siaquinu ‘smo1 pasted YIM sjoK.1 IO “a70N7

Sa 555 535s eS a a SE ea

€8 89 L6 86 OOT 78 Allis OF 7S Ze 6L SL 98 [810.1
9/9 9/9 9/9 9/9 9/9 9/9 9/9 9/9 9/9 9/9 +/§ 9/9 9/9 Jepney
9/8 9/¢ 6/6 8/8 6/8 1/1 6/6 0/0 0/0 0/0 8/8 ¢/€ 8/8 (Arepuosag)
6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 L/8 6/6 0/0 0/0 0/0 6/6 ~=—6/6 6/01 (Areuut4g)
9/¢ +/7 9/L L/L 9/9 L/L L/8 ¢/0 7/Z t/+ ¢/S ¢/S €/+ Jepndvog
+ € + + S + ¢ G € ¢ Z € ¢ (9taJed)
0 0 0 0 0 0 I 0 0 0 0 0 0 (ae[ndeos1aquy)
+/€ +/+ O1/O1 O1/O1 6/6 6/6 6/8 11/6 O1/O1 z/0 9/¢ 8/6 8/6 (I¥S20P- PHA),
jeurds
Oe + GC 7/Z aKé €/€ aKé €/+ 1/0 e/Z 7/7 C/G MEACIC aKé (Teatdt990)
9/9 t/b +/+ s/s L/S 9/ T1/8 1/1 S/+ Z/I Sip = 2 o/S t/t (jzU0I0D)
[eatdeg
SS ee Ye a ed ee ee ee ee
stuasipnu SD]aWOINAT $1]]091G]D G Jsou if Jsou (uorso.1) ORL T,
SNPAN |, SNPAN |, SNPAN |, snyosint SNPAN T

Os sa a eS eS

soysnsyy SNPAN T, ANOF fo sustutoods wolf syUNO. a[dossoany

LWTaVviL

M. C. Wimer & C. T. Collins 172 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)
TABLE 2

Total neossoptile counts in 15 thrushes

Total number of
Species neossoptiles n Source

Tropical zone species

Turdus albicollis 97 2 This study

T. fumigatus 61 6 This study

T. leucomelas 98 3 This study

T. nudigenis 76 2 This study

Temperate zone species

Turdus migratorius 134 9 Wetherbee 1957
T. libonyanus 196 1 Markus 1970

T. olivaceus 292 2 Markus 1970
Myadestes townsendi 110 1 Wetherbee 1957
Aylocichla mustelina 64 1 Wetherbee 1957
Catharus guttatus 77 4 Wetherbee 1957
C. ustulatus 64 3 Wetherbee 1957
C. minima 76 2 Wetherbee 1957
Monticola angolensis 76 1 Markus 1970

Note. 'The average is given where more than one specimen was examined.

TABLE 3
Neossoptile counts from thrush chicks examined in the field

Turdus
Tract or Turdus Platycichla Myadestes leucomelas
region albicollis flavipes ralloides (n=16)
Coronal 5/5 5/5 8/10 7/7 12/12 3(0-11)/3(0-10)
Occipital 3/3 2/2 3/3 2/2 4/5 2(1-3)/2(1-3)
Mid-dorsal 10/10 9/9 10/12 9/9 9/9 8(4-11)/8(4-11)
Pelvic 2 3 0 2 0 3(0-6)
Scapular 5/7 6/6 6/6 5/5 8/8 3(0—8)/3(0-8)
Total 50 47 58 48 67 34(10-68)

Note. Conventions for right/left sides as in Table 1. For T. leucomelas, the mean (to
nearest whole number) and range are given.

T. fumigatus, 97 for T. albicollis, 98 for T. leucomelas, and 76 for
T. nudigenis. 'The average total for T. fumigatus was depressed by
inclusion of 3 specimens from nest no. 2 which lacked any alar tract
neossoptiles. The nestlings from nest no. 1 had an average total of 81
neossoptiles, which is more similar to the total counts for the other
three Turdus species. These counts are lower than those for three
temperate latitude Turdus species, but similar to the totals reported for
other temperate zone thrushes (Table 2). Lower total neossoptile

counts in tropical congeners have previously been noted for some
icterids (Collins & Minsky 1982).

M.C. Wimer & C. T. Collins 173 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

Our counts showed reduced alar tract coverts and no remex coverts
in any of the Turdus species, in contrast to T. libonyanus and T.
olivaceus (Markus 1970) and T. migratorius (Wetherbee 1957). One
specimen of T. albicollis had a single interscapular down, a region only
recently described by Collins & Keane (1991) in Sayornis. Specimen
counts of T. fumigatus chicks from the same nest showed greater
similarity in the number of neossoptiles per tract, and _ total
neossoptiles, than did chicks from different nests (Table 1). The
greatest differences were in the presence or absence of alar tract
neossoptiles.

Field counts of neossoptiles on T. albicollis and T. leucomelas resulted
in distinctly lower total counts (Table 3); the average totals, 49 and 34
respectively, were approximately half the totals determined from
specimens. These counts were, however, restricted to the longer, more
obvious neossoptiles of the head and body. The field counts did not
include any of the minute neossoptiles (<2 mm) on the primaries,
secondaries and rectrices, if present, and this clearly contributed to the
lower totals. Similarly, the total neossoptile counts for Platycichla
flavipes and Myadestes ralloides should be considered low, by perhaps
one half, and comparisons with other species must be limited to only
those tracts in which downs were detected.

It is possible that more accurate counts could be made in the field if
the observer were previously aware of the specific tracts which would
be expected to have neossoptiles present, and their lengths. This, in
turn, would have to be based on prior examination of specimens of the
same or related species. Even so, an accurate field census of the shortest
neossoptiles, often less than 1 mm, would be problematical. Accord-
ingly, the most reliable data will continue to come from the
examination of specimens, which can also be re-examined when new
tracts are discovered.

References:

Collins, C. T. 1973. The natal pterylosis of the Swallow-tanager. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 93:
155-157.

Collins, C. T. 1990. Intraspecfic variation in the natal pterylosis of the Ochre-bellied
Flycatcher Myionectes oleagineus (Tyrannidae). Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 110: 143-145.

Collins, C. T. & Bender, K. E. 1977: Cervical neossoptiles in a Neotropical passerine.
Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 97: 133-135.

Collins, C. T. & Keane, K. 1991. Natal pterylosis of phoebes. Wilson Bull. 103: 300-303.
Collins, C. T. & McDaniel, K. M. 1989. The natal pterylosis of closed-nest building
tyrant flycatchers (Aves: Tyrannidae). Bull. So. Calif. Acad. Sct. 88: 127-130.
Collins, C. T. & Minsky, D. 1982. Natal pterylosis of three Neotropical blackbirds

(Icteridae). Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 102: 129-131.

Markus, M. B. 1970. A preliminary survey of the occurrence of neossoptiles in South
African passeriform birds, with special reference to natal pteryloses. M.S. Thesis,
University of Pretoria.

Ricklefs, R. E. 1976. Growth rates of birds in the humid New World tropics. Ibis 118:
179-207.

Wetherbee, D. K. 1957. Natal plumages and downy pteryloses of passerine birds of
North America. Bull Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 133: 339-436.

Address: Mr M. C. Wimer and Dr C. T. Collins, Department of Biological Sciences,
California State University, Long Beach, California 90840, U.S.A.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994

J. R. King 174 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

An undescribed plumage character of the Irish
Coal Tit Parus ater hibernicus

by Fon R. King
Received 23 Fuly 1993

The Irish Coal Tit Parus ater hibernicus was separated from the British
population Parus ater britannicus Sharpe and Dresser, 1871, by
Ogilvie-Grant (1910) (as Parus hibernicus). The Irish form is distinct in
being suffused with yellow on the parts of the plumage that are white in
britannicus with the nape and cheek patches usually wholly rich yellow,
while the scapulars are rather more olive than buff (Cramp & Perrins
1993). ‘There is some degree of intergradation of plumage between the
two subspecies, birds from northeastern Ireland (Co. Down) being
more or less inseparable from britannicus, whilst populations of the
latter in southern Wales are yellower than elsewhere in Britain and
approach hibernicus (Ogilvie-Grant 1910, Snow 1955, Cramp & Perrins
1993). Yapp (1963) analysed the frequency and distribution of these
intermediate morphs, concluding that the two subspecies were
inseparable, although this view is not widely followed (e.g. Vaurie
1959, Peters 1967, Cramp & Perrins 1993).

An extensive analysis of the plumage and biometry of all European
specimens of Parus ater in the British Museum (Natural History),
Tring, was undertaken in 1990. As part of a study of sexually
dimorphic characters in this species, particular detail was paid to the
area of blackish feathering of the chin and throat (herein known as the
“bib”’) (King & Griffiths 1994). The range of variation in bib size and
colouration deduced from previous handlings of wild-caught britanni-
cus was confirmed by initial study of the skins. Five representative
individuals of the observed size classes were photographed and used as
standards for all subsequent comparisons, whilst the three principal
colour types were classed using Smithe (1975) (see figure 1 and table 1
of King & Griffiths 1994). The bib size and colour of 137 britannicus
and 58 hibernicus specimens (from throughout their respective ranges),
that had been sexed by dissection, were recorded prior to examination
of their labels (unsexed birds or those whose preparation made scoring
of bib characters inaccurate were rejected from this analysis). Only
individuals that had completed the post-juvenile moult were examined,
and all were aged where possible according to the presence or absence
of retained juvenile greater secondary coverts (Svensson 1992). In
subsequent analyses, however, data for first-years and adults are
lumped, as there was no significant age difference in bib characters
from museum data (King & Griffiths 1994) and the age ratios of both
sexes were similar in the samples from the two subspecies (x? tests).

As has been reported for britannicus (Gosler & King 1989, King &
Griffiths 1994), there is significant sexual dimorphism in bib size in
hibernicus, with males generally having larger bibs (Kruskall-Wallis
test, H, =4.40, P=0.036; Table 1). However, unlike britannicus, there is

F. R. King 175 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)
TABLE 1

Mean bib size and colour scores (+1 s.e.) for Coal Tits Parus ater of two subspecies.
Scoring method follows King & Griffiths (1994)

Bib size Bib colour n

P. a. hibernicus female 2.58 + 0.186 0.88 + 0.153 20
male 3.01 40.111 1.13 + 0.088 38

P. a. britannicus female 2.42+0.111 0.69 + 0.071 54
male 3.52+ 0.106 1.36 + 0.067 83

no significant sexual difference in bib colour (H,=2.49, P=0.115;
Table 1). Somewhat unexpectedly, it was readily apparent whilst
handling specimens of hibernicus that their bibs tended to be smaller
and paler than those of britannicus. These differences were only
significant when comparing males of the two subspecies (bib size,
H,=12.67, P<0.001; bib colour, H,=4.88, P=0.027), and indeed
females of hibernicus actually tended to have larger, darker bibs than
female britannicus, though not significantly so (Kruskall-Wallis tests;
Table 1).

Thus, the blackish bib feathering is significantly less extensive and
rather browner in colour in male hibernicus than in male britannicus, a
subspecific character previously not reported. As no such difference
exists between females, the degree of sexual dimorphism of these
characters is reduced in hibernicus. One consequence of this is greater
difficulty in sexing Irish Coal Tits on plumage (pers. obs., specimens;
A. G. Gosler, wild-trapped birds). As the bib patch is frequently used
for signalling in antagonistic ‘head-up’ posturing (Hinde 1952, pers.
obs.), the biological significance of the differences in bib characters
between these (and other) subspecies warrants further research.

Acknowledgements

I am very grateful to the British Museum (Natural History) for access to their collections,
and especially to Peter Colston for assistance and discussion. I thank David Snow and
John Muddeman for their comments on a draft, and Andy Gosler for discussion.

References:

Cramp, S. & Perrins, C. M. (eds). 1993. The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Vol. VII.
Oxford Univ. Press.

Gosler, A. G. & King, J. R. 1989. A sexually dimorphic plumage character in the Coal
Tit Parus ater with notes on the Marsh tit Parus palustris. Ring. & Migr. 10: 53-57.

Hinde, R. A. 1952. The behaviour of the Great Tit (Parus major) and some related
species. Behaviour, Suppl. 2: 1-201.

King, J. R. & Griffiths, R. 1994. Sexual dimorphism of plumage and morphology in the
Coal Tit Parus ater. Bird Study 41: 7-14.

Ogilvie-Grant, W. R. 1910. (untitled). Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 27: 36-37.

Peters, J. L. 1967. Check-list of the Birds of the World. Vol. XII. Museum of Comparative
Zoology, Harvard.

Snow, D. W. 1955. Geographical variation of the Coal Tit, Parus ater L. Ardea 43:
195-226.

A.L. Mack 176 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

Svensson, L. 1992. Identification Guide to European Passerines. 4th edn. Lars Svensson,
Stockholm.

Vaurie, C. 1959. The Birds of the Palearctic Fauna: Passeriformes. Witherby, London.

Yapp, W. B. 1963. Colour variation and status of Parus ater britannicus and P. a.
hibernicus. Proc. XIII Int. Orn. Congr.: 198-201.

Address: Jon R. King, Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, Department of
Zoology, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, U.K.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994

Notes on the nests and eggs of some birds at
the Crater Mountain Research Station, Papua
New Guinea

by Andrew L. Mack

Received 29 Fuly 1993

The avifauna of Papuasia is highly endemic, 54% of its species being
confined to the region (Coates 1985, 1990). Many New Guinea species
remain poorly known due to the rugged inaccessibility of many regions
and relatively few ornithologists working there. The nest and/or eggs of
roughly 50% of New Guinea’s endemic bird species have not been
described. Furthermore, 13% of the non-endemic species occurring in
Papua New Guinea have their nests and eggs described from elsewhere,
but not in Papua New Guinea (Coates 1985, 1990).

This paper provides data on the previously undescribed nests and/or
eggs of ten Papuan species and observations at nests of an additional six
species. Nests and eggs of another 22 species were found during the
study (Appendix), but these are not described here as my observations
closely matched previous accounts.

‘These observations were made in the proposed Crater Mountain
Wildlife Management Area in the vicinity of the Crater Mountain
Biological Research Station (06°43’S, 145°05’E) roughly 10 km east of
Haia, Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea. The study area is rugged
hill forest spanning an altitudinal range of 850-1300 m a.s.l. in the
headwaters of the Pio-Purari drainage. The vegetation is diverse with
no markedly dominant species, ranging from mixed evergreen hill
forest to sub-montane forest (Paijmans 1976). There are some
abandoned gardens in the study area, from 10 to 50 years old, that form
a mosaic of variously-aged second growth. These small plots are largely
confined to level ground close to watercourses, and most forest away
from the river shows little or no sign of recent human disturbance.
Annual rainfall during the study period was 600-700 cm with no
pronounced wet and dry season.

Fieldwork was conducted from May 1990 to March 1993 with the
exceptions of November—December 1990, January-March 1993 and
several 1-2 week absences. These are incidental observations made

A. L. Mack 177 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

during the study of the Dwarf Cassowary Casuarius bennettz,
observations of other birds and their nests being made as time allowed.
Given the paucity of published field observation of Papuan birds,
incidental observations such as these can make a significant addition to
the ornithology of this unique region.

Species accounts

In all cases (save Corvus tristis) the attending adult birds were carefully
observed. An asterisk before a species name indicates that the nest
and/or egg have not been previously described (Coates 1985, 1990).
The Appendix lists the additional species found nesting at the station.
The nomenclature follows Beehler et al. (1986).

GREAT CUCKOO-DOVE Reinwardtoena reinwardtit

A nest was found 26 July 1990 in the whorl of a monopodial
Pandanus sp. (Pandanaceae) tree c. 12 m above ground. The nest was
more substantial than most columbid nests, being made of fine twigs
and slightly raised at the edges to form a shallow bowl. The single egg
was uniform white with slight brownish tinge.

ORNATE FRUIT-DOVE Prtilinopus ornatus*

A nest found 8 October 1992 was in a dense vine tangle in an
understory tree that was bent over so that its crown was nearly
horizontal. The nest was a typical Ptilinopus scanty platform of a few
twigs 3 m above ground. No egg was visible.

SULPHUR-CRESTED COCKATOO Cacatua galerita

A presumed nest cavity was found in a tall Aglaia sp. (Meliaceae)
tree in mid-June 1992. Two birds were in attendance during several of
my visits until early August, after which they were not seen. The
opening was where a branch had snapped off the straight bole c. 18 m
above ground. The birds apparently pruned hundreds of leaves, twigs,
immature fruits, and branches up to 8 cm in diameter from the tree’s
canopy, making the crown markedly more open. Perhaps this might
have made it more difficult for nest-robbers to approach the nest, or
warmed the nest chamber by increasing the amount of sunlight
reaching it.

VULTURINE PARROT Psittrichas fulgidus*

A nest found 26 August 1991 was in a cavity 12 m above ground in a
large (c. 70cm DBH) dead tree. The cavity entrance was partially
concealed by a climbing aroid (Araceae) and a Freycinetia sp.
(Pandanaceae) climber. On 27 August the female remained in the nest
hole, presumably incubating, for 4 hours, after which she came out and
was fed by the male. On 9 November the female was observed visiting
the hole repeatedly, presumably to feed the chick(s). Thus, the
egg-laying to fledging time was at least 76 days. In 1992 the nest tree
fell and I examined it. The cavity was excavated in the rotted
heartwood to c. 1.2m deep. The bottom of the cavity was deeply

A. L. Mack 178 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

layered (c. 20 cm) with small bits of wood that appeared to have been
shredded from the cavity interior.

STOUT-BILLED CUCKOO-SHRIKE Coracina caeruleogrisea*

On 13 November 1991 a nest under construction was found; a bird
was seen bringing spider webs to the nest and shaping the bow] with its
chest. In 18 November a single egg was on the nest but seven days later
the nest and egg were gone. The nest was 8 m up in an understory tree
that leaned over a wooded precipice. The nest was a very shallow cup
(almost a platform) made of fine, dry, plant fibres built atop a
horizontal main stem, not enclosing it. Spiders’ webs were loosely
plastered on the outside of the nest and around the rim. The single egg
was a lustrous pale grey with a strong olive cast, marked with dark
rufous-brown splotches and flecks forming a ring toward the broad end
of the egg with fewer flecks scattered toward the ends.

A second nest was found 9 December 1991, situated like the first in a
small tree leaning over a very steep ridge-side, c. 20 m above ground.
This nest was smaller and concealed by epiphytes. The male and
female took turns incubating, essentially covering the small nest so it
looked like a bird perched on a horizontal branch.

GREY-GREEN SCRUB-WREN Sericornis arfakianus*

A nest under construction 17 May 1991 was a domed mass of mosses
with a side entrance, roughly 15 cm tall, enclosing the base of a small
sapling. The entrance hole was 12cm above ground. Dry bamboo
leaves lined the interior and a few poked out of the entrance. Two
individuals were observed nest-building. The nest was empty and
unattended on a return visit.

YELLOW-BREASTED BOATBILL Machaerirhynchus flaviventer

A nest was found on 18 September 1992, c. 9 m above ground in the
fork of an understory tree (Rubiaceae). It was a sparse (external
dimensions [cm] 6.3 length X 5.3 width) basket of dry plant fibres and
stems bound together with spider webs. The bottom of the nest was
thin, allowing light through. Eleven days later the nest was abandoned.

CRESTED PITOHUI Pitohui cristatus*

On 27 November 1992 a nest was found, containing two eggs, 1.8 m
above ground in the whorl of a monopodial Pandanus sp. tree. The nest
was a cup 14cm deep, the outside made of twigs and dead leaves and
the inside of the cup of finer, more tightly interlaced tendrils, vines, and
epiphyte rootlets. The rim of the nest was lightly dotted with live
mosses. The two eggs were oblong, measuring 33.9 X 22.8 and
32.0 X 22.4 mm. The egg was bright white with irregularly spaced dark
grey, black and a few pale grey flecks, somewhat denser toward the
broad end; on the broad end was a small cap of grey and black splotches
and a few fine, black squiggly lines.

DWARF HONEYEATER Oedistoma iliolophus
Although several nests have been described (Coates 1990), one found
in October 1992 was unusually situated. It was enclosed in the

|
|
|

A. L. Mack 179 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

semicircular base of a fallen Pandanus leaf hanging in understory
vegetation 60cm above ground. Eggs from two nests at Crater
Mountain (20.4 x 14.3 and 20.5 x 14.1mm) closely match the
description and measurements given for O. 7. fergussonis in Coates

(1990).

SPOT-BREASTED MELIPHAGA Meliphaga mimikae*

A nest was found on 13 March and another on 25 April 1991, both in
the forks of horizontal branches in understory trees 1.7 and 2.0 m above
ground. The nests were slightly oblong open cups (external dimensions
[cm] 9.0 x 7.5 X 7.5 height; internal 5.0 x 4.5 x 4.5 depth) made of fine
plant fibres, twigs and vines thickly covered on the outside by living
mosses and ferns. The insides of the cups were thickly layered with
loose, shredded, fluffy, light-brown plant down that partially concealed
the eggs when not being incubated. Both nests contained two eggs
when found. Eggs were light salmon with a sparse ring of rust-coloured
flecks toward the broad end and lightly flecked with rust over the
remainder of the eggs. One egg measured 23.7 X 16.4 mm.

MOUNTAIN MELIPHAGA Meliphaga orientalis*

A nest was found on 11 May c. 2m above ground in a horizontal
fork. The nest was similar to that of MM. mimikae, but somewhat smaller
(external dimensions all 7.5 cm), and more tightly constructed. The
internal dimensions were 5.5 X 4.5 x 4.5 depth, and it was lined with
plant-down identical to that found in the M. mimikae nests. The
outside of the nest was covered with live mosses and dead bamboo
leaves. One egg was almost pure white with a few very small indistinct
flecks of pale red-brown, while the other was more heavily flecked,
particularly toward the broad end. By 13 May both eggs hatched and
by 19 May the nest was empty.

OBSCURE HONEYEATER Lichenostomus obscurus

A nest with two eggs was found on 17 October 1992 that resembled
previously described nests (Coates 1990). However, this nest was tilted
to one side with the rim built-up on the higher side to form a partial
dome covering almost one quarter of the cup. The eggs measured
22.5 X 16.5 and 23.1 < 16.5 mm.

STREAK-HEADED MANNIKIN Lonchura tristissima

A nest was observed under construction 9-11 April 1992 with at least
two birds working on it. The nest, a globular mass of bamboo leaves
and fine stems, was c. 5 m up in dense foliage of an understory tree at
the edge of a clearing by a ravine.

MOUNTAIN DRONGO Chaetorhynchus papuensis*

A nest found on 20 October 1992 was c. 4m above ground in a
branch fork of an understory tree. It was a tidy, round, shallow cup of
tightly constructed light brown vines and plant fibres. The lower
two-thirds of the cup exterior was thinly covered with live mosses; the
upper one-third was unadorned. One egg measuring 26.2 xX 17.6 mm

A. L. Mack 180 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

was being incubated; base colour light brown, heavily flecked with dull
rufous marks. Denser flecks formed a ring toward the broad end and a
nearly solid cap on the broad end. On 24 October the nest and egg were
gone.

TORRENT-LARK Grallina bruijni*

On 21 November 1991 a cup nest was found with the male
incubating a single egg. The nest was hanging from a fork in a Ficus sp.
(Moraceae) branch 1.5 m over a river. External nest diameter was 9.5,
depth 7.7 cm; cup diameter 6.8, depth 3.0 cm. The nest interior was
made of fine black plant stems and epiphyte roots; the exterior was
covered with a thick layer of mud. The egg measured 24.6 X 18.3 mm;
it was white with pale rust flecks, a few toward the narrow end with
more, longer and wider flecks toward the broad end. On 7 December a
1-2 day old chick was in the nest; thus incubation time was at least 16
days. Skin of the naked chick was black, matched by the colour of the
nest lining.

GREY CROW Corvus tristis*

Little is known of the nesting of this species (Goodwin 1986). A large
nest (roughly 80 cm external diameter) that was an untidy mass of large
sticks was found high in an emergent tree (Aglaia sp.) in late May 1992.
My local assistants assured me it was the nest of this species and
agitated Grey Crows were seen in the immediate vicinity, but none
were seen actually going to the nest.

Concluding remarks

A variety of birds place their nests in the leaf whorls of Pandanus trees.
I observed six species commonly nesting in pandans at the Crater
Mountain Station (see Appendix). Pandans, with their thorny stems
and sharply pointed serrated leaves, are probably difficult for some
predators to climb and manoeuvre in. The nests I found were cryptic
because they resembled the detritus that typically collects in the whorls
at the leaf bases. However, these sites might have drawbacks;
nest-robbing birds such as the Greater Black Coucal Centropus menbeki
and Black Butcherbird Cracticus quoyi actively search Pandanus whorls
for prey (pers. obs.). Because the seven species of Pandanus in the study
area are quite numerous, many nests probably go undetected by
predators that search pandans.

Papua New Guinea still has vast tracts of relatively undisturbed
rainforest, offering the opportunity to study rainforest birds under
normal (unmodified) conditions—an opportunity that is becoming rare
in many regions of the tropics. However, few field studies have been
made of most New Guinean birds. This paper describes many novelties
observed only incidentally while undertaking other field studies.
Hopefully it shows how much more could readily be learned through

A. L. Mack 181 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

concentrated studies of the nesting biology of New Guinea’s birds and
will stimulate interest in this neglected region.

Acknowledgements

Financial support came principally from NYZS/The Wildlife Conservation Society, a
Fulbright grant, and NSF dissertation grant (BSR 8900399), the Douroucouli foundation
and the World Nature Association. P. Burke, W. Crill, C. Filardi, K. Ickes, H. Jessen
and R. Sinclair provided field assistance. Logistical support was provided by B. Park, J.
& I. Douglas, M. & C. Smith and L. & B. Welles. The Department of Biology,
University of Papua New Guinea, and the Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies
sponsored my residence. C. Frith made helpful comments on the manuscript. Special
thanks are due R. & R. Mack and particularly D. Wright for assistance, encouragement
and unstinting support.

References:

Beehler, B. M., Pratt, T. K. & Zimmerman, D. A. 1986. Birds of New Guinea. Princeton
Univ. Press.

Coates, B. J. 1985. The Birds of Papua New Guinea. Vol. 1 non-passerines. Dove
Publications, Alderley.

Coates, B. J. 1990. The Birds of Papua New Guinea. Vol. 2 passerines. Dove Publications,
Alderley.

Goodwin, D. 1986. Crows of the World, 2nd edn. British Museum (Natural History),
London.

Paijmans, K. (ed.) 1976. New Guinea Vegetation. National University Press, Canberra.

Address: Andrew L. Mack, Department of Biology, University of Miami, Box 249118,
Coral Gables, FL 33124, U.S.A.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994
APPENDIX

Species observed nesting at the Crater Mountain Biological Research Station. P indicates
species found nesting in Pandanus trees (see text).

Common Scrubfowl Megapodius freycinet, Brown Cuckoo-Dove Macropygia
amboinensis P, Great Cuckoo-Dove Reinwardtoena reinwardtii P, Pheasant Pigeon
Otidiphaps nobilis, Ornate Fruit-Dove Ptilinopus ornatus, Superb Fruit-Dove Ptilinopus
superbus, Beautiful Fruit-Dove Ptilinopus pulchellus, Red-flanked Lorikeet Charmosyna
placentis, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Cacatua galerita, Large Fig-Parrot Psittaculirostris
desmarestu, Eclectus Parrot Eclectus roratus, Vulturine Parrot Psittrichas fulgidus,
Hook-billed Kingfisher Melidora macrorrhina, Stout-billed Cuckoo-shrike Coracina
caeruleogrisea, Grey-green Scrub-wren Sericornis arfakianus, Chestnut-bellied Fantail
Rhipidura hyperythra, Black-winged Monarch Monarcha frater, Spot-winged Monarch
Monarcha guttula, Yellow-breasted Boatbill Machaerirhynchus flaviventer, White-eyed
Robin Pachycephalopsis poliosoma, Little Shrike-thrush Colluricincla megarhyncha P,
Rusty Pitohui Pitohui ferrugineus, Crested Pitohui Pitohui cristatus P, Black Berrypecker
Melanocharis ngra, Long-billed Honeyeater Melilestes megarhynchus, Slaty-chinned
Longbill Toxorhamphus poliopterus, Dwarf Honeyeater Ocdistoma iliolophus, Spot-
breasted Meliphaga Meliphaga mimikae, Mountain Meliphaga Meliphaga orientalis,
Obscure Honeyeater Lichenostomus obscurus, Streak-headed Mannikin Lonchura
tristissima, Mountain Drongo Chaetorhynchus papuensis, Vorrent-lark Grallina bruijni,
Mountain Peltops Peltops montanus, White-eared Catbird Auluroedus buccoides P,
Magnificent Bird of Paradise Cicinnurus magnificus P, Grey Crow Corvus tristis.

C. B. Frith & D. W. Frith 182 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

Discovery of nests and an egg of Loria’s Bird
of Paradise Cnemophilus (Loria) loriae
(Paradisaeidae)

by Clifford B. Frith & Dawn W. Frith

Received 3 August 1993

Introduction

Loria’s Bird of Paradise Cnemophilus (Loria) loriae is a small (22 cm,
80-100 g) and stocky sexually dimorphic fruit-eating bird of paradise
(Paradisaeidae) discovered in 1893. It lives in mid-montane wet forests
of the central mountain ranges of New Guinea from the Weyland
Mountains of Irian Jaya eastward to the southern Owen Stanley Range
of Papua New Guinea, at 1200-3000, mostly 1800-2400, m asl (Cooper
& Forshaw 1977, Beehler et al. 1986, Coates 1990).

Adult males are glossy velvety-black with iridescent blue-green lores
and forehead, a slight purple gloss on upperparts and iridescent
blue-green or violet-purple sheens on the inner secondaries. The bill is
black, and the obvious fleshy gape and inside mouth are cream yellow,
white or pale green. Adult females are uniform yellowish-olive or dull
greenish-olive (Coates 1990). Immature males have the plumage of
adult females, and a distinct grey juvenile plumage is known (Frith
1987).

Little else has been learnt about this taxonomically interesting bird of
paradise, one of three species constituting the distinct subfamily
Cnemophilinae. Bock (1963) showed Loria’s Bird to be most closely
related to the other monotypic cnemophilines, the Crested Bird of
Paradise Cnemophilus macgregori (hereafter Crested Bird), and the
Yellow-breasted Bird of Paradise Loboparadisea sericea. Clench (1992)
concluded that Macgregor’s Bird of Paradise Macgregoria pulchra,
presently placed in Paradisaeinae (Gilliard 1969, Cooper & Forshaw
1977), should be in the Cnemophilinae.

Diamond (1972) suggested that Loria be merged with Cnemophilus
and Schodde (1976) suggested that Loboparadisaea might also be
merged with Cnemophilus. Some subsequent authors have placed only
Loria into Cnemophilus (Beehler & Finch 1985, Beehler et al. 1986),
while Frith (1987) and Frith & Harrison (1989) considered this
reasonable but preferred to retain Loria until kowledge of living birds
was available. Frith (1987) stressed the need for knowledge of
nidification in Loria’s Bird of Paradise (hereafter Loria’s Bird) to
further understand relationships within the Cnemophilinae, and
Paradisaeidae as a whole.

Loria’s Bird is assumed to be polygynous, as solitary adult males are
known to attend conspicuous forest canopy calling-perches and to
advertise their location with regularly repeated, ventriloquial bell-like
notes (Gilliard 1969, Coates 1990). Lone individuals and aggregations
of up to ten female-plumaged birds have been recorded feeding upon

C. B. Fnth & D. W. Frith 183 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

fruits (thought to be the exclusive diet) of several plant species from the
ground to the forest canopy, but mostly low in the forest (Cooper &
Forshaw 1977, Coates 1990). Majnep (in Majnep & Bulmer 1977)
suggested that both female and male attend a domed nest when
nestlings are present, but no nest or egg has been formally described.
The only indication of breeding in the species is Ripley’s (1964) record
of two “‘juveniles, one unsexed, not long out of the nest’’ in the [laga
Valley in the Snow Mountains of Irian Jaya in September.

Discovery of the nests

Having discovered a number of nests and eggs of several bird of
paradise species in the Tari Gap and Ambua Lodge areas of the
Southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea (Frith & Frith 1990, 1992a,
1993b,c) we returned to Ambua Lodge for the period 15 December—27
January 1993 specifically to attempt to find a nest of Loria’s Bird,
which is not uncommon there (Frith & Frith 1992b, 1993a). Several
domed nests of the congeneric Crested Bird found within several
metres of the ground (Frith & Frith 1993c) led us to anticipate a domed
nest built close to the ground by Loria’s Bird. In the event we found six
nests.

Nest 1

Joseph Thavo, naturalist at Ambua Lodge, told us of seeing a
female-plumaged Loria’s Bird carrying nest-material on a number of
occasions over a period of a week or more some six to eight weeks
previously. We visited the location with Thavo on 17 December and
there flushed a female-plumaged Loria’s Bird from near the ground,
and subsequently found a used nest (nest 1) built upon a near-vertical
exposed rock face (Plate 1). The nest site was in mature mossy forest
c. 50 m from and 15 m above a 15 m wide boulder-strewn swift-flowing
mountain torrent, on a 45° slope falling to the SSE. A small rock
overhang directly above the nest protected the site and kept the nest
dry. The face of exposed rock extended some 2 m vertically above the
nest site.

Within this nest were numerous egg fragments, the largest measuring
13.8 x 12.0 mm, indicating an egg of pinkish-buff ground colour with
numerous brown, russet and purplish-grey spots and blotches over
most of the surface but conspicuously more dense on the larger end.
The egg had only slight gloss and no broad longitudinal blotches or
streakings as are typical of eggs of most members of the Paradisaeinae.

The nest was roughly globular, but vertically flattish and sparse at
the back where hard against the rock, with a horizontally-ovate
entrance hole in the front. The external structure was a substantial
accumulation of green mosses heavily ‘decorated’ or ‘camouflaged’ on
the front half of the top and around the sides, down to the
mid-entrance-hole level, with 40 (now dried and shrivelled) filmy fern
fronds (Hymenophyllum spp.) most numerous directly above, and
overhanging, the entrance. Incorporated into the moss of the entrance
perch and below it were c. 30 sticks up to 235 mm long and 4.5 (mostly

C. B. Frith & D. W. Frith 184 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)
TABLE 1

Direction entrance faced (in compass degrees), height and measurements (mm), as
indicated in Figure 1, of five Loria’s Bird of Paradise nests; with means for five Crested
Birds’ nests’

Nest Height

Nest entrance above

no. faced ground a b c d e f g h i j
1 140 600 275,250) 130) 110) 90) WTO iS Ses OOOO
2 210 2100 280 265 — 112 65 178 190 110 — 24
3 20 1650 230 200 126 95 76 98 212 122 110 41
4 40 2000 220 220 — 85 70 70) VS 1 —
5 315 1500 LOZ == — 105 85 94 160 122 — 23
Means

Loria’s 145 1580 240 234 128 101 77 +4110 178 #119 105 29
Crested — 2609 2076 NOT 107; A224. JAR a —. lb) 26 li Sia

2—3) mm in diameter, a part of some being visible. Two live epiphytic
orchid stems were incorporated into the moss beneath the entrance
perch (Plates 1 and 2).

‘The inner nest-chamber lining consisted of a discrete frail ‘basket’ of
pale, supple, fine (<1 mm diameter) epiphytic orchid stems, and a few
fine vine tendrils up to 400mm long (Plate 2). Many of ‘the longer
orchid stems of this inner ‘basket’ encircled the entire inside or outside
of its globular shape. The base of the ‘basket’ was thicker and denser,
many of the orchid stems lining the egg-cup being shorter in length
than elsewhere. There was no egg-cup lining material different to the
rest of the lining. No tree leaves or ‘comb-tooth’ fern fronds were used
in this nest, measurements of which appear in Table 1 and are indicated
in Figure 1.

Nest 2

Following the finding of nest 1 all saplings, trees and rock faces in an
immediate area of 2 km* at altitudes of c. 2150 to 2200 m were searched
for nests. On 18 December recently used nest 2, with a female-
plumaged Loria’s Bird scolding close by, was found in similar habitat
and some 500 m downstream on the same torrent (Fig. 2). This nest
was built upon the side of a moss-covered, 40 cm diameter, tree trunk
and was extremely cryptic (Plate 2). The nest tree was 55 m from and
18 m above the torrent on ac. 40° slope falling to the W. To confirm the
status of this nest a fresh leaf was placed within its egg cup, which
remained there until 6 January when the nest was collected and
measured (Table 1). Nest materials were similar to those of nest 1, but
there was a much more substantial moss base and c. 110 sticks up to
280 mm long and 3 (a few to 4.5) mm in diameter beneath the entrance
perch. This base could have included material from a previous nest, but
it may have been required to provide purchase on the vertical tree

Plate 1. Nest of Loria’s Bird of Paradise. Upper, nest 1 im situ, the arrow to the right of
the nest pointing to the entrance perch level below the entrance aperture. Lower, nest 1
detail.

Plate 2 (overleaf). Nests of Loria’s Bird of Paradise. Upper, the chamber lining ‘basket’
removed from nest 1. Lower, nest 2 im situ on tree trunk, the index finger-tip of M.
Media’s left hand being at the entrance aperture.

C. B. Frith & D. W. Frith 185 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

Figure 1. Schematic front (left) and side (right) profile of a Loria’s Bird of Paradise
domed nest to show parameters measured, and presented in Table 1: a=nest height;
b=nest width; c=nest chamber width; d=entrance aperture width, and e=its depth;
f=height to entrance perch; g=nest depth; h=nest chamber height, and i1=its depth;
j=egg-cup depth from entrance perch level.

trunk, there being no epiphytic plants or other structures to support it.
Unlike nest 1, the nest base had a few tree leaves and leaf pieces
incorporated into it. The entire inner nest-lining ‘basket’ consisted of
the supple straw-coloured stems of epiphytic orchids up to 550 mm
long and 1.5 mm in diameter, with a few black tendril-like rootlets or
stems up to 760 mm long.

Nest 3

This nest was found on 21 December under construction, being built
of moss and filmy fern fronds, but lacking a chamber lining of orchid
stems. A silent female-plumaged Loria’s Bird watched us at this nest:
The nest was c. 200 m from nest 1 on a bearing of 130°, on the opposite
side of the same stream (Fig. 2) in mature moss forest on a 45—50° slope
falling to the NNE. This nest was extremely cryptic in situ, its materials
perfectly matching living plants growing on immediately adjacent rock
faces. When complete, nest materials were similar to nest 1 but the
external appearance was dominated by fresh deep-green and blue-green
filmy fern fronds (Hymenophyllum spp.) rather than by moss. Several
fern fronds were placed below the entrance perch. Some 33 straight
sticks, up to 305mm long and 5.5 mm in diameter, were in part or
entirely visible on and in the front of the nest below the entrance perch.
The inner nest-lining was predominantly of supple straw-coloured
orchid stems, with several other fine woody tendrils, up to 600 mm long
and 1.8 mm in diameter. The base of the nest was a most substantial
accumulation of filmy ferns laid atop one another to form a dense and

C. B. Frith & D. W. Frith 186 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

Figure 2. Schematic map of Loria’s Bird of Paradise nest locations, to scale. Numbered
solid circles are nests examined and open circles are older, disused, nests. Parallel lines
indicate a mountain torrent, flowing from top to bottom as arrowed. Single contour line
shows ridge top, and arrows indicate steep fall of forested terrain toward torrent.

compacted wad intersected by the sticks. No comb-tooth fern fronds
were present.

On 22, 24, 28, 29, 30 December 1992 and at 1130 hrs on 1 January
1993 a female-plumaged Loria’s Bird was seen adding materials to the
nest, which was empty. At 1420h on 2 January the bird was flushed
from a fresh elliptical ovate egg measuring 36.8 X 24.5 mm and
weighing 11.3 g. This slightly-glossed egg was pale pink-buff sparsely
spotted and blotched all over with russet, rufous, tan-browns and
purple-greys. These markings, and fine short scribblings, were more
dense in a band close to and about the larger end (Fig. 3).

‘The nest was inspected once a day until 23 January and on each
occasion a female-plumaged bird was flushed or was in the immediate
nest area showing concern. It was heard to give only a soft, low rasping
scold note repeated 4-5 times. At 1430 hrs on the 24th the egg showed
no sign of pipping. At 0900 hrs on the 25th the bird flushed off the egg,
now 10.5 g and with one small shell eruption at its larger end. At
1700 hrs on the 26th the bird again flushed off the pipping egg, and at
0730 on the 27th off a naked hatchling. Thus the egg hatched on the
26th day after laying, assuming it was laid sometime before 1430 hrs on
2 January. The hatchling was mid blue-grey dorsally and on its legs,
eyes and forecrown; the ventral body, crown and nape were paler and a
yellowish-fawn, the bill brownish-grey with a tiny white egg-tooth, the
gape white, and claws conspicuously white. The nestling was found
dead and cold with head wounds late the next day; it was preserved in
alcohol and subsequently deposited in the Papua New Guinea National
Museum collection in Port Moresby.

C. B. Fnth & D. W. Frith 187 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

Figure 3. Egg and egg fragment of Loria’s Bird of Paradise. Upper, freshly laid egg of
nest 3; lower, egg fragment of nest 5.

When collected for examination, nest 3 was found to be built directly
upon an older nest structure, with yet another old nest immediately
behind and above it on the same rock (Fig. 2).

Nest 4

This nest was found on 21 December, 10 m directly downslope from
nest 3. Clearly a nest of the previous season, it was extremely cryptic in
situ. It was built atop a plant-covered rocky protuberance at the top of
an exposed rock face lacking protective rock directly above. The nest

C. B. Frith & D. W. Frith 188 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

was built of similar materials to the previous ones, having some 30
sticks incorporated into the base, including a couple of large orchid
stems up to 450mm long and 5 (mostly 3-4) mm in diameter. One
‘stick’ was a 290 mm length of heavily-hooked Calamus palm stem.
Also within the basal stick and moss material were several dead, dry
Nastus bamboo leaves. Filmy fern fronds used to ‘decorate’ or
‘camouflage’ the nest exterior consisted of at least four species. A
tooth-comb-like fern frond, possibly Doodia or a related genus, was
placed above the entrance hole and three more were incorporated into
the upper nest material but were not visible externally. Only 30 cm
from and above this nest on the same rock, were the remains of an older
nest, too deteriorated to be measured.

Nest 5

On 22 December nest 5 was found, c. 150 m upstream from nest 3 on
the same stream bank. This nest was built upon a rock face, with rock
directly above protruding over the nest just far enough to protect it
from rain. Rocks immediately about this nest were lushly vegetated
with mosses and filmy ferns so similar to the external nest materials
that the structure was almost impossible to discern, even with
knowledge of its location. This nest was 45 m above the stream and
c. 65 m from its bank, on a well moss-forested wet rocky north-facing
55° slope that fell from the ridge top some 40 m above the nest site all
the way to the stream. The whole area, of this and all the other nests
between the ridge-top and the torrent (Fig. 2), was so steep, wet and
unstable that it would be rarely traversed by people.

The nest contained a holed egg fragment measuring 29 X 23 mm
(Fig. 3) and seven smaller ones, up to 9 X 7 mm, of a pink-buff ground
colour spotted and blotched with numerous markings of browns, tans
and purplish-greys, most densely on the broad end. The fragments
lacked gloss, possibly due to weathering as nest 5 was at least one year
old.

The nest contained only a couple of sticks within and beneath its
base, up to 142 mm long and 3 mm in diameter. It was generally of
similar materials to the others. Numerous filmy fern fronds were atop
the structure, hanging over the entrance hole, and a few also on the
upper sides. Conspicuously placed atop the nest were several
‘comb-tooth’ fern fronds and more of these were found beneath the
moss of the upper structure. There was a substantial number of filmy
fern fronds above the base moss material, with a couple of ‘comb-tooth’
fern fronds (Ctenopteris sp.) directly beneath the egg-cup lining of
supple epiphytic orchid stems. The latter were up to 450 mm long and
0.5-1.5 (mostly 1) mm in diameter, plus a few fine supple black root
tendrils. The lining of the central egg cup was of orchid stem lengths of
only 100-150 mm.

Nest 6

This, probably a recently used nest of the season, was c. 25 m from
nest 5 on the same level of the same slope, in a similar site on a moss
and filmy fern-covered rock face directly beneath a small projecting

C. B. Fnith & D. W. Frith 189 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

rock-ledge overhang. The nest was so well integrated into the rock face
and vegetation that it could not be removed without its destruction. It
was 1.2 m above ground and the entrance faced N.

Statistical summary of nests

The height above ground, direction the nest entrance faced, and
measurements of nests 1-5 are summarised in ‘Table 1, the
measurements taken being indicated in Figure 1.

Discussion

Although Loria’s Bird is approximately 10% smaller than the Crested
Bird, the external dimensions of its nest (Fig. 1a,b,c,g) were larger; its
nest entrance aperture and other internal dimensions were smaller or
similar (Fig. 1d,e,h,i,j); see Table 1. Whilst the Crested Bird is known
to build a nest on a tree stump, trunk or branches (Frith & Frith
1993c), it would appear that, in the area studied, Loria’s Bird
specializes in nesting on lushly-vegetated near-vertical rock faces on
steep slopes of deeply dissected mountain torrent valleys, notwith-
standing one nest on a tree trunk. Six Loria’s Bird nests were at a mean
of 1.5 m above ground, 1 m lower than five Crested Bird nests (Frith &
Frith 1993c).

Loria’s nest is almost identical in shape, construction and materials
to that of the congeneric Crested Bird except that the egg-cup is not
lined with distinctly finer orchid stems (Frith & Frith 1993c) but with
shorter lengths of the same orchid stems that constitute the entire inner
nest lining (Plate 2). Nine Loria’s and five Crested Bird nests suggest
that the former tends to use more filmy fern and the latter more
‘comb-tooth’ fronds, whilst both utilize much moss, orchid stems and
sticks. Samples are, however, small and from a single area for each
species.

The nest of Loria’s Bird, and that of the Crested Bird, is unlike all
other known bird of paradise nests in being a globular domed structure
incorporating woody sticks as a foundation (Gilliard 1969, Cooper &
Forshaw 1977, Coats 1990, Frith & Frith 1990a, 1992a, 1993b,c).
Sticks in the Loria’s Bird nests we studied were all within the moss and
ferns beneath the entrance perch, none being fully exposed beneath this
as in the Crested Bird’s nest.

The use of nest ‘foundation’ sticks by both Cnemophilus species is
particularly noteworthy. All other bird of paradise nests known (26
paradisaeine species) are open shallow cups of orchid and/or vine stems
or tendrils with or without some moss, fern fronds or leaves (Gilliard
1969, Cooper & Forshaw 1977, Coates 1990, Frith 1991, Frith & Frith
1990a, 1992a, 1993b,c); twigs or sticks have not been convincingly
documented as used by most species.

The Crested Bird egg fragments described by Frith & Frith (1993c)
indicate an egg of similar colour and markings to that of Loria’s Bird.
The hatchling of Loria’s Bird is naked and predominantly dark-
skinned, as is characteristic of the Crested Bird and all other birds of
paradise, in contrast to pale-skinned, conspicuously downy, bowerbird

C. B. Frith & D. W. Frith 190 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

hatchlings (Ptilonorhynchidae), as discussed elsewhere (Frith & Frith
1990b, 1993b,c, 1994). Studies of successfully nesting Loria’s Birds are
required to clarify if its grey plumage (Frith 1987) is in fact a
briefly-worn juvenile plumage common to all populations of the
species, notwithstanding Ripley’s (1964) report of two ‘“‘juveniles”’ in
typical adult female plumage. We take this opportunity to document
that the bird photographed by Peckover (1990: 6, plate 5) and claimed
to be a Loria’s Bird in immature male plumage is in fact a
female-plumaged Yellow-breasted Bird of Paradise.

Our numerous nest visits during the entire incubation period at nest
3 always involved disturbing a female-plumaged Loria’s Bird, which
we assume to have been a single female. We doubt that male Loria’s
Birds visit the nest (Majnep, in Majnep & Bulmer 1977), and consider
it probable that females are uniparental at the nest and feed young
exclusively fruit, as in the Crested Bird (Frith & Frith 1993c).

The incubation period at nest 3 was 25 days (+1 day), longer than
the 16-22 days recorded for other, lowland nesting, birds of paradise
(Coates 1990, Worth et al. 1991, Frith 1985, 1991) and most passerines
(Skutch 1976). This long incubation is probably largely due to its
nesting in the cold wet climate of a relatively high altitude (Skutch
1976), as found in other passerines of the area (Frith & Frith 1990b,
1994). The fresh egg weight of 11.3 g represents 12.1% of mean adult
female weight (93.3, n=3; Diamond 1972) or 12.2% of mean adult
weight (92.4, n=6; Frith & Frith 1993a).

Figure 2 shows that nest 3 had two old nests immediately adjacent
and two more (including nest 4) 10 m away. Nest 5 was 25 m from nest
6. We consider it probable that these represent examples of ‘traditional’
nesting by female Loria’s Birds using the same nest site or immediate
area over subsequent seasons, one bird building all nests associated
with nest 3 and another both 5 and 6. Such ‘traditional’ nesting by
polygynous birds of paradise and other passerines has been reported
and discussed elsewhere (Frith & Frith 1992a, 1993b, 1994).

The finding of a grey juvenile plumage in both Loria’s and Crested
Birds, together with new information presented here, strongly supports
the incorporation of Loria loriae into Cnemophilus (Diamond 1972,
Beehler & Finch 1985, Beehler et al. 1986) and the resultant synonomy
of Loria. Knowledge of living, or the genetics of, monotypic
cnemophiline Loboparadisea sericea is now eagerly awaited in order to
properly assess the validity of Loboparadisea.

Diamond (1972) found no altitudinal overlap between Loria’s Bird
and the Crested Bird. Cooper (in Cooper & Forshaw 1977) found both
sympatric, however, and we have recorded both species in forests of the
Ambua Lodge to Tari Gap road at altitudes of 2200 to 2650 m (Frith &
Frith 1992b, 1993a) but saw no nesting by Loria’s Bird at the higher
elevations. Diamond (1986) pointed out that numerous inter- and
intrageneric hybrids are produced by bird of paradise species in which
males are known or suspected to be promiscuous. That none are known
to involve the cnemophilines led him to ask if they are monogamous
birds. Our observations strongly suggest that female Loria’s and the
Crested Birds are uniparental nesters, and that males are probably

C. B. Frith & D. W. Frith 191 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

promiscuous. This raises the previously unconsidered possibility of
these two birds hybridizing with other birds of paradise or with each
other. If, however, the male parent were a paradisaeine species that fed
a significant proportion of animal food to its young (Frith & Frith
1992a, 1993b) it is possible that the resultant young might be fed
exclusively on fruit and would not survive.

Majnep (in Majep & Bulmer 1977) was correct in stating that Loria’s
Bird builds a domed nest as does the Lesser Melampitta Melampitta
lugubris (Frith & Frith 1990b). The nest of the latter differs, however,
in lacking sticks in the base and in having a discrete egg-cup lining of
horsehair-like plant rootlets. The egg of M. lugubris differs from that of
both Loria’s Bird and the Crested Bird in being chalky-white, in
lacking any gloss, in being near-spherical and in having sparser and
larger markings (Frith & Frith 1990b, 1993c).

Notwithstanding the suggestion, based on DNA-DNA hybridization
studies, that M. lugubris is a bird of paradise (Sibley & Ahlquist 1987)
and the fact that its pterylosis is similar to some birds of paradise
(Clench 1992), significant differences in life history between M. lugubris
and the Paradisaeidae indicate a need for further studies (Frith & Frith
1990b). Sibley & Ahlquist (1987) considered M. lugubris to represent a
sister group to, and equidistant from, all paradisaeine birds of paradise
(not closest to Manucodia as we [Frith & Frith 1990b] erroneously
interpreted their results). Whilst WM. lugubris may be closer to the
Paradisaeidae than anyone prior to Sibley & Ahlquist (1987)
considered, aspects of its morphology and biology appear too different
to justify its inclusion within that family unless conclusive supporting
evidence be available. Given that Sibley & Ahlquists’ results (1987)
indicated to them that Melampitta diverged from other birds of
paradise earlier (c. 20—21 million years ago) than did any other genus of
that family, and the gross life history differences we have observed
(Frith & Frith 1990b, 1993c), we think it more appropriate to exclude
Melampitta from the Paradisaeidae at this time.

Acknowledgements

We thank Bob and Pam Bates and Ambua Lodge and Trans Niugini Tours for their
continued support and interest, and Joseph Thavo and Mediu Media for field assistance.
Support from Wildlife Conservation International of the New York Zoological Society,
significant in our Crested Bird of Paradise findings, influenced this study. Bruce Beehler
and Brian Coates kindly commented on a draft of this note and Bruce Gray identified
ferns. We acknowledge the work of Dr Lamberto Loria and Count Salvadori who
discovered and described Loria’s Bird of Paradise, respectively, one hundred years ago.

References:

Beehler, B. M. & Finch, B. W. 1985. Species-checklist of the birds of New Guinea.
RAOU Australasian Orn. Monogr. 1: 1-127.

Beehler, B. M., Pratt, T. K. & Zimmerman, D. A. 1986. Birds of New Guinea. Princeton
Univ. Press.

Bock, W. J. 1963. The relationships between the birds of paradise and the bower birds.
Condor 65: 91-125.

Clench, M. 1992. Pterylography of birds-of-paradise and the systematic position of
Macgregor’s Bird-of-Paradise (Macgregoria pulchra). Auk 109: 923-928.

Coates, B. J. 1990. The Birds of Papua New Guinea. Vol. 2. Dove.

B. Bruderer & H. Bruderer 192 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

Cooper, W. T. & Forshaw, J. M. 1977. The Birds of Paradise and Bower Birds. Collins.

Diamond, J. M. 1972. Avifauna of the Eastern Highlands of New Guinea. Publ. Nuttall
Orn. Club no. 12: 1-438.

Diamond, J. M. 1986. Biology of birds of paradise and bowerbirds. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst.
17: 17-37.

Frith, C. B. 1985. Birds-of-Paradise. Jn B. Campbell & E. Lack (eds), A Dictionary of
Birds. T. & A. D. Poyser.

Frith, C. B. 1987. An undescribed plumage of Loria’s Bird of Paradise Loria loriae. Bull.
Brit. Orn. Cl. 107: 177-180.

Frith, C. B. 1991. Bowerbirds and Birds of Paradise. In J. Forshaw (ed.), Encyclopedia of
Birds. Smithmark.

Frith, C. B. & Frith, D. W. 1990a. Discovery of the King of Saxony Bird of Paradise
Pteridophora alberti nest, egg and nestling with notes on parental care. Bull. Brit.
Orn. Cl. 110: 160-164.

Frith, C. B. & Frith, D. W. 1990b. Nesting biology and relationships of the Lesser
Melampitta Melampitta lugubris. Emu 90: 65-73.

Frith, C. B. & Frith, D. W. 1992a. Nesting biology of the Short-tailed Paradigalla
Paradigalla brevicauda. Ibis 134: 77-82.

Frith, C. B. & Frith, D.,W. 1992b. Annotated list of birds in western Tari Gap, Southern
Highlands, Papua New Guinea, with some nidification notes. Austral. Bird Watcher
14: 262-276.

Frith, C. B. & Frith, D. W. 1993a. Results of a preliminary highland bird banding study
at Tari Gap, Southern Highlands, Papua New Guinea. Corella 17: 5-21.

Frith, C. B. & Frith, D. W. 1993b. The nesting biology of the Ribbon-tailed Astrapia
Astrapia mayeri (Paradisaeidae). Emu 93: 12-22.

Frith, C. B. & Frith, D. W. 1993c. Nidification of the Crested Bird of Paradise
Cnemophilus macgregoru and a review of its biology and systematics. Emu 93: 23-33.

Frith, C. B. & Frith, D. W. 1994. The nesting biology of Archbold’s Bowerbird
Archboldia papuensis (Ptilonorhynchidae) in Papua New Guinea. [bis 136: 153-160.

Frith, C. B. & Harrison, C. J. O. 1989. An undescribed plumage of the Crested Bird of
Paradise Cnemophilus macgregoru. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 109: 137-140.

Gilliard, E. T. 1969. Birds of Paradise and Bower Birds. Weidenfeld & Nicolson.

Majnep, I. S. & Bulmer, R. 1977. Birds of my Kalam Country. Auckland Univ. Press.

Peckover, W. S. 1990. Papua New Guinea Birds of Paradise. Robert Brown & Associates.

Ripley, S. D. 1964. A systematic and ecological study of birds of New Guinea. Bull.
Peabody Mus. Nat. Hist. no. 19: 1-85.

Schodde, R. 1976. Evolution in the birds-of-paradise and bowerbirds, a resynthesis.
Proc. 16 Int. Orn. Congr. : 137-149.

Sibley, C. G. & Ahlquist, J. E. 1987. The Lesser Melampitta is a bird of paradise. Emu
87:, 66-68.

Skutch, A. F. 1976. Parent Birds and Their Young. Univ. Texas Press.

Worth, W., Hutchins, M., Sheppard, C., Bruning, D., Gonzalez, J. & McNamara, T.
1991. Hand-rearing, growth, and development of the Red Bird of Paradise
(Paradisaea rubra) at the New York Zoological Park. Zoo Biol. 10: 17-33.

Address: Clifford B. Frith and Dawn W. Frith, P.O. Box 581, Malanda, Qld 4885,

Australia.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994

Numbers of Red-backed Shrikes Lanius
collurio in different habitats of South Africa

by B. Bruderer © H. Bruderer
Received 13 August 1993

Red-backed Shrikes are declining in central Europe, particularly in
areas of intensified agriculture. As a first step towards describing the

B. Bruderer & H. Bruderer 193 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

situation of the species in its non-breeding range Bruderer & Bruderer
(1993) presented an up-dated distribution map of the species in
southern Africa. It was shown that the distribution of Red-backed
Shrikes coincides with the Savanna Biome according to Rutherford &
Westfall (1986). Within the Savanna Biome the arid savannas (Huntley
1982) are preferred to the moist savannas. A more detailed association
of the species’ distribution with vegetation units based on Acocks’
(1988) Veld Types of South Africa showed that Kalahari Thornveld and
Arid Lowveld were most preferred. Due to the lack of quantitative
information on the species’ distribution, the present study aims at
rough estimates of densities in order to complement the atlas
information for part of the non-breeding range and to compare habitat
preferences in different areas as a basis for more detailed studies on the
ecology of the species.

Methods

Terminology and general rules. The terms “‘count, survey, census, strip transect’’ are used
as proposed by Ralph (1981). Specific adaptations are described below. The counts were
restricted to the shrikes’ main activity periods which were determined by observations on
their behaviour (unpubl. data). Red-backed Shrikes in the non-breeding area tend to
expose themselves to the sun at sunrise; territorial behaviour and calling are most
pronounced at that time. During the following two to three hours foraging has priority.
When it becomes warmer after about 10 o’clock, the birds gradually tend to seek shade
and are less conspicuous; during the hottest period of the day most are completely
hidden. A second phase of activity occurs during the last two hours before sunset, with
intense calling at sunset. In cool and overcast weather, the active period may be slightly
extended. Birds were mapped on transparent sheets fixed to orthophotos or 1:10 000
maps of the main study areas. Where no such documents were available, distances along
the transect line were read from the automatic counter of the car and distances off the line
were estimated.

Strip transects by car. To cover large distances, or where leaving the car was not
possible (e.g. in the Kruger National Park), counts were done by driving at a speed of
about 7 km/h, one observer surveying the left and another one the right side of the road.
In open areas or where the bushes were low and well separated, a strip of 50 m on both
sides of the road could be surveyed (VW-Combi providing a relatively high observation
platform). The car was slowed down or even stopped when the bushes could not be
checked adequately at the basic speed. In areas with denser bush (and no possibility of
leaving the car) the census strip was reduced to 25 m off the transect line.

Strip transects on foot. In areas with orthophotos or comparable maps, off-road strips
could be covered. In areas with dense bush, where leaving the car was possible, car
transects were supplemented by two persons walking for a known distance about 25 m off
the road in order to achieve a strip width of 50 m to both sides of the road.

Area surveys. 1 km? plots at ““Deelkraal’’ and ‘“The Ridge” were covered by a series of
strip transects of two observers walking 50-75 m apart. At ‘“‘Verene’”’ daily driving along
the road and frequent walking parallel to the road resulted in a complete census of 15 ha
and provided data for detectability estimates.

Detectability of Red-backed Shrikes and density estimates. Good knowledge of the
numbers of birds in the census area at ‘“‘Verene’’ and of some individuals in other areas
allowed tests of the detectability of these individuals when driving past at normal
counting speed. Provided that the main parts of these birds’ territories were inside the
counting strip, the detection rate was about 60% for males in single one-visit counts
during the main activity periods. The corresponding detection rate for the more
cryptically coloured, and often less conspicuously perching females was about 40%. In the
case of our area surveys with two observers, we assumed that the detection rate was
slightly higher than in the tests. In unknown areas, such as in the one-visit strip transects
by car, where the preferred perches are not familiar to the observer, the detection rate is
probably lower, and also depends on habitat structure. In spite of comparability

B. Bruderer & H. Bruderer 194 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

problems (mentioned in text and tables), we transformed the counts of Red-backed
Shrikes into densities for rough comparisons between regions and habitats.

Association of vegetation types with Red-backed Shrike distribution. Acocks (1988) has
provided South Africa with an excellent set of vegetation maps and with a classification of
vegetation types, described by climate, soil characteristics, and plant associations; most of
them illustrated by photos. Seventy veld types are included; those relevant for the
Red-backed Shrike are listed in Bruderer & Bruderer (1993). The allocation of an area to
a certain veld type was based on Acock’s (1988) maps. In the main study area, the
Transvaal Province, nine veld types were relevant for the Red-backed Shrike (Table 1).

Study areas

Names of sites always refer to the 1:250 000 topographical maps of South Africa. The
main study areas (site 1 in Fig. 1), situated 25 km E of Nylstroom around the Nyl
Floodplain, were surveyed mainly during December 1989 and February 1990. The area
as a whole belongs to the Mixed Bushveld (Acocks 1988, Frost 1987). In fact it is a
mosaic of several veld types which can be divided into two main communities: (a) those
on the higher parts of the landscape, mainly on well-drained (acidic) sandy soils derived
from weathering sandstone and conglomerate, with mainly broad-leaved bushes and trees
(e.g. Ochna pulchra, Terminalia sericea); (b) the microphyllous thornbush savannas on
alluvial clay soils of the bottomlands, which are dominated by Acacia spp. The
woodlands are interrupted by open areas, such as valleys or old man-made clearings. In
spite of having the same climate, the microphyllous woodland shows affinities to the arid
savannas, the broad-leaved woodland to the moist savannas (Tarboton 1980). Four plots
were selected in order to get an idea of the distribution of shrikes in the different habitats
of this area (Table 2): (1) 16km of strip transects along the vley in the Nylsvley
Provincial Nature Reserve (a former farm), with three parts offering a mixture of open
grassland, Acacia savanna and broad-leaved savanna; (2) 1km* of partly cleared,
cattle-grazed grassland covered with 5 up to 50% of (mainly Acacia) bush on the farm
“Deelkraal’’; (3) 1 km? of recolonized grassland on old lands, partly cleared Acacia bush
and mixed Bushveld in the farm area ‘The Ridge’’; (4) a 15 ha plot of mixed (mainly
broad-leaved) Bushveld on the farm ‘“‘Verene’’, where we lived. The sites outside the Nyl
area were visited only once, mainly in January 1990 (Table 1). Those within Transvaal
Province are indicated in Figure 1.

Densities in different areas

‘Table 1 is mainly based on one-visit strip transects (two exceptions
marked out by a footnote are explained below). Detection rates may be
slightly higher in multiple strip transects and considerably higher in the
area surveys (T'able 2, see below). In spite of these limitations, the two
tables show the same general features as the atlas distributions for
Transvaal (Bruderer & Bruderer 1993): highest densities occur in the
semi-arid savannas of the Lowveld and the Limpopo basin, lower
densities in the central parts of northern Transvaal, where on the
slightly higher relief broad-leaved savannas prevail. Within the
Bushveld there is a decrease from N to S, the low densities at
Vaalbosch being recorded in an optimal Red-backed Shrike habitat
with open mixed scrub of mainly 1.5 m height. In spite of intensive
search and apparently suitable habitats, no Red-backed Shrikes
could be found in the well developed bush along the slopes of the
Willem Pretorius Game Reserve (Highveld, between Kronstad and
Bloemfontein) and in the bush associated with dry riverbeds in the
Karoo National Park (Nama-Karoo, near Beaufort West); these are not
included in Table 1. In addition to the general trends, Tables 1 and 2
indicate wide variation of densities within the same veld type and
within short distances.

195 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

B. Bruderer & H. Bruderer

‘(3X93 9a8) %OS Jo AlT[Iqeisajap payeuNsa ue YIIM sjoasuRI dis JISIA-9U0 ay} 0} aTqvieduios W9dY} 1apudr
01 %O§ Aq psoNpat 219M SaINSY [BUISIIO YT, °% NO] 03 ASO]9 aq 0} pauNsse ataM sajes UOTDAIap ‘YSN MOT YIM sayoied [TeuIs UO sasnsuad 1OJ,

oo

SS ST PPA B[oreIA[-Uroyqouy qnios elovoy uado ey QO] (P[Pamory ply) sueyTO cl
$9 Zl PIPA PfIor1e]A[-ULOYIqouy qnios viovoy uado ey QT (P[PAMO'T plry) ereiVg OL
09 (OT) speor suoye sdiijs ssvis (as9vjins Mo]) Jo wy QT (P[PAMO'T PLY) oases] II
OS =e PUe[POOM paAvo[-peo.g UT Surliva]o ey g (P[PAMO'T PIV) oasepyy II
$9 ns pur[POOM “[]peoig UT BIOvOY YIM SBSULIvIID [BIOAVS BY CT CAysng IMog plsaAMmo’q) elieyA, epung 8
SL s°9 uleyd ‘qnios pax moy ey Qf (Pleaysng pex!]\]) reeapesiny AS
09 $9 ysnq elovwoy Alepuooas ‘pazeis19A0 vy (¢ (PJPA tuvdoyy) a3yR[ARsuolepy L
09 S seprounid vrypeurutsa [/elowoy qnios pax Mo] ey Q6 (P]aA Tuedoy +"Ag JooMg ply) ueelsueq] 9
$8 Seg LOOFT[Y “Qns9s poxrur Moy vy ¢¢ (pleaysng pox!y\) teerpasiny IS
$9 ¢ ysnq elovoy Aivpuooses ‘pazeisi9a0 ey QZ = (‘AYSNg peXIpA, YStinog) Zruvuezq/epus, S
OS Z IY ‘qntos poava]-peoig Ayureur ‘Moy ey ¢¢ (ppeaysng pexIp]) leeipasiny o¢
09 G ysnq 29 pue[pooM paavs]-peorq ey YS CAYsng poexlfy Yystinog) 100dsurryy +
auedoyy/Mo][IMmysng-poy
OS Z PeXIPA, ‘[POOM paavo]-pero1q uado vy ~g (P[PAMO'T PLIV) alroseyy al
Ss SI Ppue[pooOM paava]-prolsq ey QZ CAaysng Imog pjaaAmo’7) vliepy epung 8
$9 SI Briovoy AUBUT YIM Qnios paxIw MOT ey (8 (pfPausoYT, JAN T,) YOsoqyee A eT
OS I ysnq suedoyyy Moy Joyies ‘asuap ey (QZ (p[PA tuvdoyy) eqvioT-eMsogeyeyg 6
CAYsng pextf
OS S'0> [[fy ‘puel[poom 2 ysnq poxrw vy YSZ ystinog + “Aysng Ino0G) ayy Ao1og Z
SSS a ee ee See
Iefi/qoy uef vy gy /spsiq varie dUuUNOS UI (S861 SyoO9YW ‘adAT, plea) (7 Sty)
SoU 9%, Ayisuaqd yeyqey pur sdeJ.ING aus JO stuvu o1ydessoar ‘ou OIG

i

(8861) SY90oVY 0} BuIpsoooK sadA J, pfaA ‘satsuap Sursvasour 04 Sulp1ooov pasuesie ‘syoosuvs} drys ystA-auo aysurs
uO paseq ‘[RRASUR.], JO S}¥IIqvy pur svar JUdIAyIp ul soyeut Jo UOTJ10do1d pu (sp.aiq ¢'Q ISatvaU 0}) SAYMIYS poyoug-poy Jo saqwunjsea Asus

1 wlaVvih

B. Bruderer & H. Bruderer 196 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

100 km

A Bushveld
B Highveld

C Lowveld 24

Escarpment

fo} te}
25° 26 27. 28 29 30 31

Figure 1. Study areas in Northern Transvaal: 1, Nyl area (main study area; dark point);
2, Transvaal Provincial Nature Reserve Percy Fife; 3, Air force Reserve Corbadraai
(former farm Ruigedraai); 4, Kranspoort (road at southern edge of the Soutpansberg); 5,
Venda/Dzanani 2 (road at southern edge of the Soutpansberg); 6, Transvaal Provincial
Nature Reserve Langjaan; 7, Malongavlakte; 8, Punda Maria; 9, Phalaborwa-Letaba; 10,
Satara; 11, private Nature Reserve Klaserie; 12, South of Olifants; 13, farm Vaalbosch.
Boundaries between the geographical regions Bushveld, Highveld, and Lowveld dashed.
Escarpment shaded.

Variation of densities with habitats

In the geographical area of the Lowland (Fig. 1), densities varied from
1 to 15 birds/10ha due to important differences in local habitat
structure which is far below the resolution of Acocks’ (1988) maps.
The distribution was particularly patchy in the Klaserie and Punda
Maria area (Table 1). Low densities (1-2 birds/10 ha near Punda
Maria, about 2 birds/10 ha at Klaserie) were recorded in strip tran-
sects in broad-leaved woodland with high trees. High densities
occurred on clearings with Acacia. Such small areas with low bush
were easily surveyed completely in a relatively short time. The
resulting densities (e.g. 10 birds on 6 ha at Klaserie corresponding to
16.6 birds/10 ha, or 2-3 birds on several clearings of 1-3 ha around
Punda Maria, corresponding to 7-30 birds/10 ha) are not directly
comparable with the normal strip transects. Taking into account that
the usual detectability of the birds in one-visit strip transects is about
50%, the densities for these patches (with probably close to 100%

B. Bruderer & H. Bruderer 197 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

TABLE 2
Density estimates of Red-backed Shrikes and proportion of males in the Nylsvley area
(Mixed Bushveld), based on mean values of multiple strip transects (b, c, d) and area
surveys (a, e, f). The higher detection rates in the area surveys are accounted for by
reducing the census data (provided in brackets) in order to be comparable to strip
transects (see text for explanation)

Ref. Site (no. and veld Surface and habitat Density % males

no. type of Acocks 1988) in counting area birds/10 ha Nov/Dec Feb/Mar

la The Ridge 100 ha mixed bush & 0.7(1.1) 25 50
secondary grassland

1b Nylsvley Reserve S 65 ha Acacia 1.5 50 55
woodland+ Mixed Bv.
along vley

1c Nylsvley Reserve 75 ha open broad-leaved 1.8 50 65

centre bush+ Acacia along

vley

1d Nylsvley Reserve N50 ha open broad-leaved DES 45 75
bush+ Acacia along
vley

le Verene 15 ha open mixed & 2.5(4) 30 35(55)!
broad-leaved bush

1f Deelkraal 100 ha Acacia bush & 2.5(3.8) 45 (80)!
grassland

"See discussion for variation in the percentage of males.

detectability) were reduced to 50% for inclusion in ‘Table 1. High
densities were also recorded in one-visit strip transects along the
roads towards the entrance of Klaserie (5-15/10 ha on narrow grass
strips bordering the road; included in Table 1 by an average value of
10 birds/10 ha). Very low densities occurred in the dense Mopane
bush with nearly complete absence of herbaceous layer between
Letaba and Phalaborwa. In the open Acacia scrub (dry Knobthorn
Veld) around Satara, Red-backed Shrikes occurred at a_ nearly
uniform high density. The fact that the proportion of males is higher
than expected is discussed below.

In the geographical area of the Bushveld (Fig. 1) variation was less
pronounced. Nevertheless, in the Ruigedraai area, the densities varied
from 6.5 in the plain to 2 birds/10 ha on the dry stony hills within a
distance of 5 km. In the Ny] area (‘Table 2) densities were lower in areas
with a large proportion of open grassland (The Ridge), increasing in
open bush areas, and decreasing again where bush and/or tree cover
was too dense (Nylsvley South). The densities in the Nylsvley Reserve
are based on multiple strip transects, the others on area surveys.
In order to render the results of the surveys comparable with the
transects, reduced figures are given in addition to the survey data (in
brackets). In the case of ‘““The Ridge’’ we were able to detect 60—70% of
the known birds by strip transects; thus, the comparable value is 0.7
birds/10 ha, while the total density was at least 1.1 birds/10 ha. At
“Verene’” the total density comprised at least 2 males and 4

B. Bruderer & H. Bruderer 198 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

female-plumaged birds on a surface of 15 ha in November/December
(corresponding to 4 birds/10 ha); normal strip transects covering 12 ha
of the same area resulted in a mean of three birds detected,
corresponding to the 2.5 birds/10ha which are given as the
““comparable’”’ figure. The ‘“‘comparable”’ value for “‘Deelkraal’’ is the
mean derived from three area surveys with two observers. On 11
November and 1 December an improved coverage with 4 observers
revealed a density (closer to the real density) of 3.5 birds/10 ha which is
given in brackets. An interpretation of the variability in sex-ratios is
given in the discussion.

Discussion

Methods

‘The limitations of the present study are mainly attributable to the
restricted time available (only one season) and the different methods
used. Densities may differ between years and vary as the season
progresses. The detectability is lower in strip transects than in area
surveys by two persons and is generally reduced in higher and denser
vegetation. Behavioural differences between males and females may
cause further bias. Atlas reporting rates (Bruderer & Bruderer 1993)
tend to level out variation in time and space, but provide no direct
information on densities. Sporadic occurrence in time and space may
already provide reporting rates of 1—5% in a conspicuous species, while
densities ranging from 5 to 15 birds/10 ha or even up to 80 birds/ha
(Herremans 1993) are all included in reporting rates of 50-100%
(Bruderer & Bruderer 1993), which may indicate some sort of
logarithmic relationship between reporting rates and densities in a
conspicuous species.

The detectability seemed to vary around 50% (60% and 40% for
known males and females, respectively); it was assumed to be slightly
lower in one-visit strip transects and slightly higher in area surveys
done by two persons. The assumed detectabilities seem to be realistic in
a one-species survey of a conspicuous species. Hildén (1981) estimated
the mean efficiency of the Finnish line-transect method for a mixture of
species to be in the order of 45-50% in one visit, while Jarvinen &
Vaisanen (1981) suggested 60-65%. Diehl (1981) emphasizes the
variation in detectability at different phases of the breeding cycle of
Red-backed Shrikes, but deals with detectabilities similar to ours. With
a detectability of 50% one would have to double the densities recorded
in one-visit counts to obtain rough estimates of real densities, or one
has to reduce complete censuses accordingly to render them
comparable to strip transects (Tables 1 and 2).

Densities in different areas and habitats

‘Tarboton (1980) provides the only comparable data on densities in
South Africa. In the Nylsvley area he found 19 birds/100 ha in Acacia
Savanna and 2.7 birds/100 ha in Burkea Savanna. Our Deelkraal data
(25 birds/100 ha) closely match Tarboton’s Acacia census. Our counts

B. Bruderer & H. Bruderer 199 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

did not cover the sparsely populated Burkea Savanna. Like our counts,
Tarboton’s censuses emphasize the fact that within a few kilometers
there may be a mosaic of veld types. This local variation in the veld
types and habitat structure is reflected in the density of shrikes (Tables
1 and 2). As Red-backed Shrikes are very opportunistic in their habitat
selection in the non-breeding area, the densities 1n a certain area change
with season; local concentrations may build up within a matter of days
or even hours when large amounts of food become available (e.g. after
cattle grazing, or when termites are swarming).

Counts by Herremans (1993) in the core area of the Red-backed
Shrike’s non-breeding area (i.e. different subkalahari habitats in
Botswana) provide another basis for comparison. His density estimates
range from 1-3 birds/10 ha in dense broad-leaved vegetation and in
open grassland to 3-39 (exceptionally 80) birds/10 ha in Acacia and
open broad-leaved vegetation. The lower densities match our Bushveld
counts, while our Lowveld counts come into the lower half of the
densities recorded in good subkalahari habitats. If we accept the
assumption of Herremans (pers. comm.) that, by using the call of a
Pearl-spotted Owl Glaucidium perlatum to provoke alarm-calls of all
shrikes present in the immediate neighbourhood, his recorded numbers
correspond to 100%, our Lowveld counts of 2-15 birds/10 ha (‘Table 1),
which are assumed to represent about 50% of the birds present, may
come close to the subkalahari numbers when extrapolated to 100%
(=4-30 birds/10 ha).

A preliminary analysis of the habitats of Red-backed Shrikes in the
northern part of Transvaal (unpubl.) shows that, in general, low
scrub (1-3 m high) is preferred to higher bush and trees; open bush
(10 to 50% coverage) is preferred to dense coverage or open grassland.
This corresponds to the distribution of Red-backed Shrikes in eastern
Botswana, where Herremans (1993) also observed reduced densities
in open grassland and in dense broad-leaved vegetation compared to
vegetation of medium density (see above). Similarly, in the
herbaceous layer, medium cover and restricted height is favoured:
low grass (less than 50 cm) seems to be preferred to high grass, and
medium grass-cover (50 to 80%) to bare sand or dense grass. These
preferences, which are also reflected in the preference for certain
veld types, are related to the hunting behaviour of the Red-backed
Shrike and to the availability of large, mainly ground-dwelling
insects. Red-backed Shrikes prefer perches 1.5—2 m high with open
space around, and a herbaceous layer which supports many insects
but leaves sufficient open patches to detect and catch them on the
ground.

A discrepancy exists between the high preference of Red-backed
Shrikes for the veld type ‘“‘Mopani Veld’’ (Bruderer & Bruderer 1993)
and the very low densities found in the dense Mopane bush with very
sparse undergrowth between Phalaborwa and Letaba (Table 1). The
explanation may be, that the veld type defined by Acocks (1988) is
usually not a ‘monoculture’ of Colophospermum mopane. It ranges from
grassland with more or less scattered trees and/or bushes dominated by
C. mopane to dense monospecific Mopane woodland.

B. Bruderer & H. Bruderer 200 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

Sex-ratio

The percentage of males in all the one-visit samples (Table 1) is
higher than expected according to the sex-ratio in breeding populations
(see below). Over-representation of males is also known from other
comparable counts. Becker (1974) found only one female among 30
birds sitting (in early April) on wires along the Kalkfeld—Okaputa
railway (Namibia). D. Ludwig (in litt.) counted (in February) 6 L.
collurio on a line transect of 2 km near Windhoek, 5 of which were
males. P. J. Mundy (27 litt.) states that the Red-backed Shrike was the
most widespread and probably the commonest shrike in the southwest
corner of Zimbabwe (end of March 1990) and that males outnumbered
females by at least ten to one. From the difference between one-visit
strip transects (‘Table 1) and area surveys (part of Table 2) in our study,
we assume different behaviour which may result in a local segregation,
with males perching conspicuously along open patches or strips (such
as roads), while females behave more secretively and may be less prone
to use exposed perches. This would be similar to the behaviour of the
sexes in the breeding area.

As moult (which allows sexing of immatures increasingly from
January onwards) progresses, the percentage of sexable males changes
with season. If there is no geographical segregation of the sexes one
would expect a sex ratio close to 50:50. A balanced sex-ratio was
observed in the Jura mountains (U. Leugger pers. comm.) and in the
best shrike areas in the Swiss Alps (Engadin) where M. Miller (pers.
comm.) noted usually 1 or 2 surplus males among 150 to 200 birds in
the years 1988-1991. He also reports that usually between 45% and 50%
of the birds present are yearlings. Thus, we have good reason to assume
a sex-ratio of 50:50 and a ratio of young to adult birds of 50:50 in the
non-breeding range. When all males have reached a moult stage which
allows sexing in the field in February (own unpubl. data, based on
skins) we would expect 25% sexable males in December and between 25
and 50% from the beginning of January to mid-February. Thus, in
‘Table 1 the expected percentage of males during January is of the order
of 40%, and in February/March 50%, which is lower than observed in
both cases. In Table 2 the expected value for November/December 1s
25%, a value which is closely matched by the censuses in the mixed
Bushveld at ‘“‘Verene’’ and ‘““The Ridge’. The Acacia bush at
‘“‘Deelkraal’’ shows a higher percentage of males although the censusing
methods were the same. This raises again the question of habitat
segregation between males and females which was put forward as a
hypothesis by Bruderer & Bruderer (1990), for which there are also
indications from Botswana, where Herremans (pers. comm.) found that
females preferred denser vegetation than males.

Comparison with densities in Europe

In Europe the species occurs mainly in areas where agriculture is
still traditional, allowing a mosaic of hedges, cultivated fields, fallows,
and pasture land. In Germany, Jakober & Stauber (1987) found
1-6 pairs/10 ha in small areas with optimal habitats. Such high
densities occur over fairly large areas along open slopes of the Jura

B. Bruderer & H. Bruderer 201 Bull, B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

mountains and in the dry inner Alpine valleys of Switzerland
(Wallis/Lower Engadin) where 5-38 pairs/100 ha were recorded
(Dell Oca 1987, Schifferli 1989, Rudin 1990). Highest densities are
reached in the Lower Engadin, where 30 of about 100 test areas of
50-200 ha showed more than 10 pairs/100 ha; 9 of these held more than
30 pairs/100 ha, 5 more than 40 and one 105 pairs/100 ha (Miller
1990). Recorded densities (about 50% of real densities) in ‘Tables 1 and
2 can be directly compared with the number of pairs (2 birds) in the
breeding-season censuses. Most of them compare well with those in
optimal habitats in Switzerland. The high densities in the Lowveld and
the Limpopo basin are of the same order as the Engadin values. ‘The
highest values (Satara, Olifants) are clearly higher than the highest
breeding densities and are valid for large areas. If we bear in mind the
fact that breeding pairs have to feed 3—5 young and enlarge their
territories soon after the fledging of the young, we may conclude that
the best breeding areas in Europe support a similar number of

full-grown birds per unit surface as the arid savannas of southern
Africa.

Summary

Strip transects and area surveys in the South African parts of the Red-backed Shrike’s
non-breeding range provided density figures for different areas and habitats. Based on an
estimated average detection rate of 50%, these recorded densities have to be doubled for
estimates of real densities. In Transvaal Province, the highest densities of 10-15
birds/10 ha were recorded in semi-arid parts of the Lowveld. In the Bushveld 5-6
birds/10 ha were counted in the north, decreasing to less than 2 birds/10 ha further south.
Comparing densities with reporting rates from the southern African bird atlas projects
suggests some sort of a logarithmic relationship between reporting rates and densities in
this conspicuous species. Wide variation of densities occurs due to patchy habitat.
Highest densities were recorded in arid savanna types of medium coverage and height.
The observed sex ratios, which are usually distorted in favour of males, may be explained
by different behaviour and local habitat segregation of the sexes. An attempt to compare
the even more patchy breeding densities in Europe with the non-breeding densities
indicates that the best breeding areas in central Europe support similar numbers of
full-grown birds as the arid savannas in southern Africa.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the Swiss Ornithological Institute for enabling us to do research in
South Africa during a sabbatical leave. Financial support was provided by the following
sources: Freiwillige Akademische Gesellschaft Basel, Geigy Jubilaums-Stiftung, Basler
Stiftung fiir Biologische Forschung, Fonds zur Férderung wissenschaftlicher Kontakte
der Universitat Basel. In South Africa we experienced great hospitality wherever we
went. Special thanks to Tony and Judy Harris, to Warwick and Guggi Tarboton, and to
James and Grace Thompson. The Transvaal Museum gave administrative and logistic
support. The Nature Conservation Directorate of the Transvaal Provincial Adminis-
tration approved our project (No. TN 6/5/4/23), and this enabled us to work in their
nature reserves. We experienced support from all the Officers-in-Charge, especially from
J. Coetzee at Nylsvley Reserve. Mr Visser gave permission to work on his farm. T. Harris
and W. Tarboton gave important help and advice throughout the project from first
preparations to critical reading of the manuscript and improving its contents and English
grammar.

References:

Acocks, J. P. H. 1988. Veld types of South Africa. 3rd edn. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Afr. 57:
1-146.

A. Z. Zhatkanbayev 202 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

Becker, P. 1974. Beobachtungen an palaarktischen Zugvégeln in ihrem Winterquartier.
Stdwestafrika. SWA Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft, Windhoek.

Bruderer, B. & Bruderer, H. 1990. Counting Redbacks. SABAP News No. 10:8.

Bruderer, B. & Bruderer, H. 1993. Distribution and habitat preference of Redbacked
Shrikes Lanius collurio in southern Africa. Ostrich 64: 141-147.

Dell’ Oca, S. 1987. Daten zur Brutbiologie und zum Jagdverhalten des Neuntéters Lanius
collurio in der Region Leuk, verglichen mit Angaben aus der Region Frutigtal.
Diplomarbeit Univ. Basel/Schweiz. Vogelwarte.

Diehl, B. 1981. Bird populations consist of individuals differing in many respects.
Pp. 225-229 in C. J. Ralph & J. M. Scott (eds), Symposium on estimating numbers
of terrestrial birds. Studies in Avian Biology 6.

Frost, P. G. H. 1987. The regional landscape: Nylsvley in perspective. SA National
Scientific Programmes Report 133: 1-30.

Herremans, M. 1993. Seasonal dynamics in subkalahari bird communities with emphasis
on migrants. Proc. VIII Pan-African Orn. Congr.: 555-564.

Hildén, O. 1981. Sources of error involved in the Finnish line-transect method.
Pp. 152-159 in C. J. Ralph & J. M. Scott (eds), Symposium on estimating numbers
of terrestrial birds. Studies in Avian Biology 6.

Huntley, B. J. 1982. Southern African savannas. Pp. 101-119 im B. J. Huntley & B. H.
Walker (eds), Ecology of Tropical Savannas. Springer, Berlin.

Jakober, H. & Stauber, W. 1987. Habitatanspriiche des Neuntéters (Lanius collurio) und
Massnahmen ftir seinen Schutz. Beth. Verdoff. Naturschutz Landschaftspflege
Bad.-Wiirtt. 48: 25-53.

Jarvinen, O. & Vaisaénen, R. A. 1981. Methodology for censusing land bird faunas in
large regions. Pp. 146-151 i C. J. Ralph & J. M. Scott (eds), Symposium on
estimating numbers of terrestrial birds. Studies in Avian Biology 6.

Miller, M. 1990. Avifauna Engadin. Interner Bericht Schweiz. Vogelwarte.

Ralph, C. J. 1981. Terminology used in estimating numbers of birds. Pp. 577-558 in
C. J. Ralph & J. M. Scott (eds), Symposium on estimating numbers of terrestrial
birds. Studies in Avian Biology 6.

Rudin, M. 1990. Bruterfolg und Futterungsverhalten des Neuntéters Lanius collurio in
der Nordwestschweiz. Orn. Beob. 87: 243-252.

Rutherforth, M. C. & Westfall, R. H. 1986. Biomes of southern Africa—an objective
categorization. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Afr. 54: 1-98.

Schifferli, L. 1989. Die naturmahen Walliser Kulturlandschaften: Biotope von nationaler
Bedeutung fiir Vogelarten. Bull. Murithtenne 107: 9-19.

Tarboton, W. 1980. Avian populations in Transvaal savanna. Proc. 4th Pan-Afr. Orn.
Congr.: 113-124.

Address: Dr. Bruno Bruderer and Heidi Bruderer-Rust, Swiss Ornithological Institute,
CH-6204 Sempach, Switzerland.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994

‘The present state of pelican populations
(Pelecanus onocrotalus and P. crispus) in

Kazakhstan
by Altai Zh. Zhatkanbayev

Received 9 August 1993

Only the White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus and Dalmatian Pelican
P. crispus are found, in small numbers, in Kazakhstan. They inhabit
large reservoirs, lake systems and the deltas of several large rivers.
Due to anthropogenic influences, especially land reclamation, the

A. Z. Zhatkanbayev 203 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

TABLE 1
The number of nesting pairs of White Pelicans in Kazakhstan

No. of No. of
Years Location colonies pairs Reference

1985 Lakes of lower reaches 2; 20-30 Auezov 1986
of Irghiz and Turgai

1987 Sarikopa lake system

1984-87 Naurzum Reserve

1984-85 Ily River delta

1986-88 Ily River delta

1986 Lake Balkhash

1982 Tentek River delta

1987 Tentek River delta

1985 Kara Ertis River delta

350 E. M. Auezov pers. comm.
4-200 Gordienko 1989
1700 Zhatkanbayev 1986
1500-2500 Zhatkanbayev & Gavrilov 1990

250-300 E. M. Auezov pers. comm.
150 B. P. Annenkov pers. comm.
400 B. P. Annenkov pers. comm.
300 N. N. Beresovikov &

B. V. Sherbakov pers. comm.

Se ea a

Figure 1. Distribution of pelican colonies in Kazakhstan. Key (inset): 1, White Pelican;
2, Dalmatian Pelican. Localities: 1, Kamysh-Samar lake system, lower reaches of
Kushum River, Dongelek storage lake; 2, Naurzum Reserve; 3, Sarikopa lake system; 4,
lakes of lower reaches of Irghiz and Turgai rivers; 5, Lake Korgalzhin; 6, Lake Tenghiz;
7, Shoshkakol lake system; 8, Ily River delta; 9, Lake Balkhash; 10, Tentek River delta;
11, Lake Alakol; 12, Bukhtarma storage lake; 13 small lake east of Kurchum settlement;
14, Kara Ertis River delta.

deterioration of hydrological conditions, and fires, areas suitable for
their nesting have diminished, and many colonies have disappeared in
the last half-century. Both species are included in the Red Data Book
for Kazakhstan (1978), and the Dalmatian Pelican also in the ICBP Red
Data Book (1981).

A. Z. Zhatkanbayev 204 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

TABLE 2
The number of nesting pairs of Dalmatian Pelicans in Kazakhstan

No. of | -No. of

Years Location colonies pairs Reference
1970s Kamysh-Samar lake Separate 10 V. L. Shevchenko &
system, lower reaches nests P. V. Debelo pers.
of Kushum River, comm.
Dongelek storage lake
1987 Sarikopa lake system 1 50 E. M. Auezov pers.
comm.
1982-87 Naurzum Reserve 1 3-20 Gordienko 1989
1972-74 Lake 'Tenghiz 1 7-12 Volkov 1985
1975-82 Lake Korgalzhin 1 10-88 Volkov 1985 and pers.
comm.
1982-87 Lake Korgalzhin 1 70-315 Andrusenko & Minakov

1986; N. N. Andrusenko
pers. comm.

1988 Shoshkakol lake system 1 6 V. V. Lopatin, R. R.
(Shimkent region) Sibgatullin & M. E.

Buketov pers. comm.

1984, 1986 Lake Balkhash 2 55-90 Auezov 1986 and pers.
comm.

1984-85 Ily River delta 5 650-820 Zhatkanbayev 1986

1986-88 Ily River delta 4 780-920 Zhatkanbayev & Gavrilov
1990

1979, 1986 Lake Alakol 1 8 B. P. Annenkov and
E. M. Auezov pers.
comm.

1980 Tentek River delta 1 6

1981 Tentek River delta 1 4 B. P. Annenkov

1982 Tentek River delta 1 7 | pers. comm.

1987 Tentek River delta 1 253-262

1979-82 Kara Ertis River delta 1-7 40-350

1983 Bukhtarma storage lake 1 5 4

1985 Small lake east of 1 6 NaN Berea

B. V. Sherbakov

pers. comm.

Kurchum settlement
(East Kazakhstan
region)

White Pelican

In the 1940s and 1950s the White Pelican nested along the
northeastern coast of the Caspian Sea, in the deltas of the Volga, Ural
and Emba rivers, and in the Syr-Daria delta, Aral Sea (Shnitnikov
1949, Dolgushin 1960). In the 1980s nesting occurred at the lakes of the
Turgai Depression, the Naurzum Reserve, Lake Balkhash, and in the
deltas of the Ily, Tentek and Kara Ertis. Details are given in Table 1.
The present breeding population of White Pelicans in Kazakhstan is
c. 4000 pairs.

Dalmatian Pelican

In the 1940s and 1950s Dalmatian Pelicans nested at many reservoirs
and deltas of large rivers in the steppe and desert areas of Kazakhstan

A. Z. Zhatkanbayev 205 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

(Shnitnikov 1949, Dolgushin 1960). In the 1970s and 1980s this
species was found only at the lakes of the Ural region, Turgai
Depression, Naurzum Reserve and Tenghiz-Korgalzhin Depression,
the Shoshkakol lake system in the Shimkent region, the Ily River delta,
Lakes Balkhash, Alakol, Zaisan and Bukhtarma storage lake, and the
Kara Ertis River delta. Details are given in Table 2. The present
breeding population in Kazakhstan is c. 1500-1800 pairs.

Problems of pelican conservation

The main factors responsible for the decrease of pelicans in
Kazakhstan are poaching, disturbance of nesting pairs, fires, poisoning
by pesticides, sudden changes of water level in reservoirs, cutting of
reeds, and decrease of fish. The Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo may be
a competitor for food and space in breeding colonies. Primary predators
are the Carrion Crow Corcus corone and Herring Gull Larus argentatus,
both of which eat eggs and downy chicks. Also small chicks leaving
nests may be eaten by the sheat-fish (Szlurus glanis L.).

Pelicans are not protected in Kazakhstan. They have not been reared
in zoological gardens. In order to preserve pelican populations in the
republic it is necessary to create a reserve in the Ily River delta, the size
of which should be no less than 65,000 ha. It is there that the largest
pelican population of Eurasia is found. Additional reserves should be
created in the deltas of the Tentek and Kara Ertis. It would also be
advisable to give serious consideration to any _ hydrotechnical
installations which would influence hydrological conditions in pelican
habitats. Policies involving fishing, hunting, poaching, harvesting
reeds, fires, and pasturing animals close to pelican colonies should be
written and approved by government agencies. It is necessary to
monitor pelican numbers and study biological and ecological factors,
especially toxic chemicals, that are affecting pelican colonies.

References:

Andrusenko, N. N. & Minakoy, A. I. 1986. [Observations of wild animals in Korgalzhin
Reserve.] Proc. All-Union Conference on Problems of Calculation of Fauna: 2.
Moscow.

Auezoy. E. M. 1986. [The results of spring aerial observations of waterfowl on the lakes
of the southern part of Turgai Depression; Birds nesting in colonies on the islands of
Lake Balkhash.] Proc. All-Union Conference on Problems of Calculation of Fauna: 2.
Moscow.

Dolgushin, I. A. 1960. The Birds of Kazakhstan. Vol. 1. Alma-Ata.

Gordienko, N. S. 1989. Counting of birds in the Naurzum Reserve. Proc. All-Union
Conference on Problems of Calculation of Fauna: 3. Ufa.

Shnitnikov, V. N. 1949. [The Birds of Semirechye.] Moscow-Leningrad.

Volkov, E. N. 1985. [The birds of the Korgalzhin Reserve.] Alma-Ata.

Zhatkanbayev, A. Zh. 1986. [Distribution and numbers of pelican colonies in the Ily
River delta.] Proc. I Meeting Orn. Soc. and LX Meeting All-Union Orn. Conference: |.
Leningrad.

Zhatkanbayev, A. Zh. & Gavrilov, A. E. 1990. [Status of Pelecaniformes and
Ciconiiformes in the Ily River delta.] Materials of the III Republic Orn. Conference.
Buchara.

Address: Dr Altai Zhatkanbayey, 480070 Kazakhstan Republic, Almaty, Timiryazeva,
57-A, 30.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994

In Brief 206 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

IN BRIEF

LAUGHING GULL LARUS ATRICILLA AND FRANKLIN’S GULL
L. PIPIXCAN IN THE ECUADORIAN ANDES

On the morning of 20 November 1991 I was watching a flock of Andean
Gulls Larus serranus circling at the northern end of Lago de Colta, near
Santiago de Quito, Prov. Chimborazo, Ecuador (elev. c. 3250 m). At
08.00 I noticed a roughly similar-sized but much darker gull in the area,
which was identified as a Laughing Gull L. atricilla and appeared to be
in second-winter plumage. The bird was observed in flight for about 2
minutes and came as close as 30 m, where I could photograph it (Fig. 1).
Again on the same day, at 16.00, I watched an adult winter and five
first-winter Franklin’s Gulls L. pipixcan with 27 Andean Gulls in the
highlands (c. 3100 m) 10 km south of Canar, Prov. Canar, Ecuador.
These birds were initially feeding and resting in a freshly ploughed
field. After 10 minutes they flew to a small reservoir, where I could
photograph some of them (photographs in Editor’s files).

These are the first records of Laughing Gull and Franklin’s Gull for
the Ecuadorian Andes (cf. Fyeldsa & Krabbe 1990, Birds of the High
Andes, Ortiz Crespo et al. 1990, Aves del Ecuador, Fernando I. Ortiz
Crespo in litt., Robert S. Ridgely im litt.). The Laughing Gull is a
common migrant along the Ecuadorian coast (Ben Haase zn Jitt.), being
a non-breeding visitor along the northern half of the Pacific coast of
South America, in very small numbers down to southwestern Peru
(Hughes 1988, Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 108: 29-43). The first Laughing
Gull record for Chile was also established in November 1991
(Hoogendoorn 1993, Amer. Birds 47: 156-158).

‘The species is irregular to rare far inland beyond its regular coastal
range in the Americas, and indeed every interior record is noteworthy
(for South America e.g. Tallman & Tallman 1977, Rev. Univ. Catolica,
Quito 5: 217-224; Pearson 1980, in A. Keast and E. S. Morton (eds),
Migrant Birds in the Neotropics: 273-283). Anywhere else where it has
occurred as a vagrant, e.g. in Europe, North and West Africa, and
Australia, it is almost exclusively coastal (Hoogendoorn & Steinhaus
1990, Dutch Birding 12: 109-164).

Probably the highest-in-elevation Laughing Gull ever recorded in
North America is a bird observed at Aurora, Colorado, at 1680 m
elevation, on 2-15 February 1986 (Prather 1986, Colorado Field Orn. f.
20: 27-33, Hugh E. Kingery in litt.). In South America, a Laughing
Gull in the eastern Andes of Colombia at 3020 m elevation appears to
be the highest recorded (Hilty & Brown 1986, A Guide to the Birds of
Colombia, Fjeldsa & Krabbe 1990, J. Fjeldsa and S. L. Hilty in Mitt.).
The original source of this record could not be traced. Apparently, the
Lago de Colta bird marks a new record for elevation for the species,
and the southernmost far inland occurrence in South America.

Franklin’s Gull is an abundant migrant along the Ecuadorian coast
of Prov. Guayas (Ben Haase pers. comm.; pers. obs.), and is a
non-breeding visitor along the Pacific coast of South America, down to
southern Chile (Araya Médinger et al. 1986, Guia de campo de las aves
de Chile). As an inland and high-altitude record the Canar observation

In Brief 207 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

cannot be considered as exceptional,
as the species occurs occasionally at
considerable distances inland and at
high elevations elsewhere in South
America; but it appears to be the
northernmost Andean record. It
has been recorded from the Andes of
Peru and Bolivia (Plenge 1974,
Condor 76: 326-330; Hughes 1977,
Biotropica 9: 52; Remsen & Ridgely .
1980, Condor 82: 69-75; Harris 1980, Figure 1. Laughing Gull Larus atricilla
Publ. Mus. Hist. Nat. “Javier jin” second-winter plumage, Lago de
Prado”, Zool., Ser. A 27: 1-14, Colta (Santiago de Quito), Prov.
Fjeldsa 1983, Steenstrupia 8: 285- Chimborazo, Ecuador, elev. c. 3250 m,
298: Fjeldsa 1988, Bol. Lima 58: 2° November 1991.

61-68; Hughes 1988), in trans-

Andean Peru (Schulenberg 1980,

Gerfaut 70: 403-404), in the Central Valley of Chile near Santiago
(Carlos G. Guerra Correa pers. comm.), and in Prov. Cordoba in
central Argentina (Nores & Yzurieta 1979, Hornero 12: 45-52; Olrog
1979, Opera Lilloana 27: 1-324; Nores et al. 1983, Bol. Acad. Nac.
Cienc., Cordoba 56: I-IX, 1-114), sometimes in flocks of hundreds or
thousands. Elsewhere, Franklin’s Gull has often shown its capacity as
an inland wanderer, which is not surprising for an exclusively inland
breeder. Thus in Europe there are inland records of vagrant individuals
from Spain, France, Britain, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and
Sweden (Hoogendoorn & Steinhaus 1990).

I am grateful to Jon Fjeldsa, Ben Haase, Paul E. Lehman, Robert S. Ridgely and Claudia
P. Wilds for their constructive comments on an earlier draft of this note. Carlos G.
Guerra Correa, Steven L. Hilty, Niels Krabbe, Fernando Ortiz Crespo and Dan A.
Tallman supplied information about gull records in South America. Todd A. Culver,
George A. Hall, Teta Kain, Hugh E. Kingery, Richard L. Knight, Greg W. Lasley,

Sarah B. Laughlin, Harry B. Nehls, Sharon Ritter, Don Roberson, Thomas H. Rogers
and Ella Sorensen provided further information.

oS

Ss an

Notengaard 32, W. (TED) HOOGENDOORN
3941 LW Doorn,

The Netherlands. 18 September 1993

WHERE ARE THE LIMITS OF THE WESTERN PALEARCTIC?

The Palearctic is a natural continuum. Nonetheless, the term
“Western Palearctic’ is in common usage (e.g. in popular ornithological
journals) and it is therefore helpful to consider the most appropriate
definition of this sub-region. The editorial statement in Birds of the
Western Palearctic (Vol. 1), that the definition of the eastern limits of
the western part of the Palearctic is “largely arbitrary’’, has received
little subsequent attention. In the southeast, renewed examination of
the most appropriate ‘limits’ in Iran and the Arabian peninsula is,
therefore, worthwhile.

While the need for greater recognition of the distinctiveness of the
Saharo-Sindian zone avifauna (Harrison 1986, Atlas of the Birds of the

In Brief 208 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(3)

Western Palaearctic) needs repeating, treatment of the Arabian as well
as the Saharan deserts as essentially western offers a less confusing
approach to the subdivision of the Palearctic on a grand scale than the
more restrictive area treated in BWP. Given tthe essentially
Saharo-Sindian composition and lack of eastern elements within the
breeding landbird avifauna of arid central Arabia, there are apparently
no reasons for its exclusion from a ‘western’ ambit.

An extremely small proportion of the Arabian peninsula which
supports an avifauna dominated by Afrotropical (previously termed
Ethiopian) elements is a conspicuous exception. This is restricted to
two areas: the western scarps and fringe of the montane southwest, and
the slopes immediately adjacent to the central south coast, in Dhofar.
Plant communities in these areas are monsoon-sustained ecological
islands surrounded by radically different environments. They support
bird communities which apparently represent relics of an ancient, more
extensive Afrotropical/Paleotropical avifauna. The extent and limits of
these areas may be clarified in order to define what areas of Arabia
cannot properly be treated as western Palearctic. The significance of the
smaller number of Oriental/eastern breeding species in (mainly coastal)
southeastern Arabia is not considered here.

In Yemen, the Afrotropical element is dominant within the breeding
avifauna as far as the upper limits of the western slopes, extends more
weakly across the central plateau and to a much diminished extent
beyond, through the eastern flanks of the highlands. It is too weakly
expressed along the eastern fringe to justify the frequent presentation of
the entire southwestern tip of Arabia as wholly Afrotropical. Equally,
treating such an extensive area as ‘transitional’, another past approach,
does not properly reflect jocal differences in bird distributions. If a
transition zone has to be defined, then this would be best restricted to
the highland plateau only. Thus, the poorly demarcated eastern and
more clearly defined western fringes of the plateau represent
restrictively and expansively defined limits to Saharo-Sindian/western
Palearctic influence respectively. In Dhofar, Afrotropical species are
almost exclusively confined to the thin strip of drought deciduous
woodland on (mainly) coastal or high slopes.

In Iran, the most appropriate limits to strong western influence are
defined by a line from the northern Gulf coast, slightly west of the
Straits of Hormuz, through a gap between the southwesternmost flanks
of the Zagros and the uplands of the Makran coast/Iranian
Baluchnistan, northwestward along the eastern flank of the Zagros
range, turning eastward along the southern flank of the Elburz range, at
the lowest altitude at which temperate taxa predominate, as far east as
the Kuh-e Hazar Masjed and thence, westward, along the lower
northern flanks of the Elburz range (west of Ashkabad in
‘Turkmenistan) to the Caspian coast.

More detailed discussion of these conclusions is in preparation.

6 Connaught Road, R. P. MARTINS
Norwich, E. HIRSCHFELD
Norfolk NR2 3BP, U.K. 2 November 1993

NOTICE TO CONTRIBUTORS

Papers, from Club Members or non-members, should be sent to the Editor, Dr
D.W. Snow, The Old Forge, Wingrave, Aylesbury, Bucks HP22 4PD, U.K., and
must be offered solely to the Bulletin. They should be typed on one side of the
paper, with treble-spacing and a wide margin, and submitted in duplicate. The
style and lay-out should conform with usage in this or recent issues of the Bulletin.

A contributor is entitled to 10 free offprints of the pages of the Bulletin in which his
contribution, if one page or more in length, appears. Additional offprints or offprints of
contributions of less than one page may be ordered when the manuscript is submitted and
will be charged for. Authors may be charged for proof corrections for which they are
responsible.

BACK NUMBERS OF THE BULLETIN

Available on application to the Hon. Treasurer, as below (Vol. 93 onwards, 4
issues per year; Vols. 89-92, 6 issues per year; Vols. 88 and earlier, generally 9
issues per year): 1993 and after (Vols. 113 onwards) £4.50 each issue; 1983-92
(Vols. 103-112) £4 each issue; 1981—2 (Vols. 101 & 102) £3.50 each issue; 1980
(Vol. 100) No. 1 £4.50, Nos. 2,3 & 4 £2.50 each issue; 1973—9 (Vols. 93-99) £2.50
each issue; 1969-72 (Vols. 89-92) £2 each issue; 1929-68 (Vols. 50-88) £1.20 each
issue; Vol. 49 and before £2.50 each issue.

Indices: Vol. 112 and after £2.00; Vols. 70-111 £1.50 each; Vols. 50-69 £2.50
each; Vol. 49 and before £6 each.

Long runs (10 years or more) for Vol. 50 and after are available at reduced rates
on enquiry. Postage and packing extra. Orders over £50 post free. Special issue
Vol. 112A, 1992, in hardback, 300p, £32, inc. p&p.

MEMBERSHIP
Only Members of the British Ornithologists’ Union are eligible to join the
Club; applications should be sent to the Hon. Treasurer, as below, together with
the annual subscription (£8.50 or, if preferred, U.S. $22 for 1994, postage and
index free). Changes of address and any correspondence concerning membership
should be addressed to the Hon. Treasurer.

SUBSCRIPTION TO THE BULLETIN
The Bulletin (Vol. 114 onwards) may be purchased by non-members on pay-
ment of the annual subscription (£20 or, if preferred, U.S. $40 for 1994, postage
and index free). Applications should be sent to the Hon. Treasurer. Single issues
may be obtained as back numbers.

PAYMENTS TO HON. TREASURER

Payments should be sent to the Hon. Treasurer, S. J. Farnsworth, Hammerkop,
Frogmill, Hurley, Maidenhead, Berks SL65NL, U.K., or credited direct to the
Club’s bank account—No. 10211540, Sort Code 2000 87, at Barclays Prime
Account, Dale House, Wavertree Boulevard, Liverpool L7 9PQ, U.K., with
confirmation to the Hon. Treasurer. All payments are net and should be in
Sterling if possible. Payment in other currencies must include a further £4 for
U.K. Bank Charges (except for annual rates in U.S. Dollars which are inclusive).

CORRESPONDENCE
Correspondence about Club Meetings and on all other matters should go to
the Hon. Secretary, Mrs A. M. Moore, 1 Uppingham Road, Oakham, Rutland
LE15 6JB, U.K.

CONTENTS

CLUB NOTICES Meetings, Accounts’). . 2... 25)¢me = eee
LOUETTE, M. & HERROELEN, P. A revised key for Cercococcyx
cuckoos, taxonomic status of C. montanus patulus and its
occurrence in Zaire... 6. i. Sec a hee ee ee
WHITNEY, B. M., ROWLETT, J. L. & ROWLETT, R. A. _ Diystributional
and other noteworthy records for some Bolivian birds......
PHILLIPS, A. R. A review of the northern Pheucticus grosbeaks. .
WIMER, M. C. & COLLINS, C. T. Natal pterylosis of some
neotropical thrushes (Muscicapidae: Turdinae)............
KING, J. R. An undescribed plumage character of the Irish Coal
it Parus ater hibernicus : 00) 0852 3s oc ee Cee
MACK, A. L. Notes on the nests and eggs of some birds at the
Crater Mountain Research Station, Papua New Guinea ....
FRITH, C. B. & FRITH, D. W. Discovery of nests and an egg of
Loria’s Bird of Paradise Cnemophilus (Loria) loriae (Paradi-
SAe1dae) es o/s esi ee ns ne dees) Sepa Me ee
BRUDERER, B. & BRUDERER, H. Numbers of Red-backed Shrikes
Lanuus collurio in different habitats of South Africa ........
ZHATKANBAYEV, A. H. ‘The present state of pelican populations
(Pelecanus onocrotalus and P. crispus) in Kazakhstan........

In Brief HOOGENDOORN, W. Laughing Gull Larus atricilla and
Franklin’s Gull L. pipixcan in the Ecuadorian

Adesee Fe Usha a Er Pca ees an

MARTINS, R. P. & HIRSCHFELD, E. Where are the limits

of the Western Palearctic? i) 47-1 eee

206

207

The Bulletin is despatched from the printers on publication and is sent by Surface Saver
Postal Services to all European destinations outside the U.K. and by Air Saver Postal Services
to destinations outside Europe. Those whose subscriptions have not been received by the
beginning of a month of publication will have their copies despatched by surface mail, after

their current subscription has been paid.

COMMITTEE
D. Griffin (Chairman) (1993) Revd T. W. Gladwin (Vice-Chairman) (1993)
Dr D. W. Snow (Editor) (1991) S.J. Farnsworth ( Treasurer ) (1990)
Mrs A. M. Moore (Hon. Secretary) (1989) Miss H. Baker (1994)
Dr J. F. Monk (1991) Dr R. A. Cheke (1991)

R. E. F. Peal (1993)

Printed on acid-free paper.

Published by the BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB and printed by
Henry Ling Ltd., at the Dorset Press, Dorchester, Dorset

yL
14
£365

ISSN 0007-1595
S\RO>

Bulletin of the

British Ornithologists’ Club

Edited by
Dr D. W. SNOW

Volume 114 No. 4 December 1994

FORTHCOMING MEETINGS

Tuesday, 17 January 1995. We welcome back Dr David T. Parkin,
Reader in the Department of Genetics of the Queens Medical Centre,
Nottingham. Dr Parkin’s subject on this occasion will be “Recent
Developments in the Forensic Investigation of Birds of Prey”’.

Those wishing to attend are asked to notify the Hon. Secretary by
Tuesday, 3 January 1995*.

Tuesday, 21 March 1995. Dr Ian Newton F.R:S. of the Institute of
Terrestrial Ecology at Monks Wood will speak on ‘‘The Year of the
Sparrowhawk’’. Dr Newton’s work on finches and sparrowhawks is of
international renown.

Those wishing to attend are asked to notify the Hon. Secretary by
Tuesday, 7 March 1995*.

Tuesday, 25 April 1995. Mr D. A. Turner, who is well known to
visitors to East Africa, will speak on “‘Ornithology in East Africa,
looking back over the last thirty years and into the 21st century”’.

Those wishing to attend are asked to notify the Hon. Secretary by
Tuesday, 11 April 1995*.

Tuesday, 23 May 1995. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING at 6 p.m.
This will be followed by the evening meeting at which Dr D. H. Thomas
of the University of Wales will speak on ‘‘Cool Birds in Hot Deserts”’.

Those wishing to attend the evening meeting are asked to notify the Hon.
Secretary by Tuesday, 9 May 1995*.

Meetings are held in the Sherfield Building of Imperial College, South
Kensington, London at 6.15 p.m. for 7 p.m. A map showing Imperial
College will be sent to members on request.

Overseas Members visiting Britain are particularly welcome
at meetings—details of which can be obtained from the Hon.
Secretary, 1 Uppingham Road, Oakham, Rutland LE15 6JB.
Telephone (0572) 722788.

*Late acceptances and cancellations can usually be taken up to the
weekend preceding a meeting, although members are asked to accept by
14 days beforehand as arrangements for meetings have to be confirmed
with Imperial College well in advance.

209 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

Bulletin of the
BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB

Vol. 114 No. 4 Published 21 December 1994

The eight hundred and forty-first meeting of the Club was held on Tuesday, 19 July
1994, at 6.15 p.m. in the Senior Common Room of the Sherfield Building at Imperial
College. 24 Members and 12 Guests attended.

Members attending were: D. GRIFFIN (Chairman), Miss H. Baker, P. J. BELMAN, Mrs
D. M. Brap.Ley, D. R. Caper, Professor R. CHANDLER, Dr. R. A. CHEKE, S. J.
FARNSWORTH, D. J. FISHER, A. Gipss, C. A. R. HELM, R. Kettie, Dr C. F. Mann, D. J.
Montier, Mrs A. M. Moores, R. G. Morcan, Mrs M. Mutter, R. E. F. Peat, Dr R.
SELF, P. J. SELLAR, Dr D. W. Snow, N. F. S. Stone, Dr C. VIOLANt, Professor W. E.
WATERS.

Guests attending were: Mr RICHARD FFRENCH (Speaker), Mrs J. CaLprr, I. Dawson,
Mrs F. FarNswortH, G. Gipss, Ms K. Horr, Mrs M. Montirr, P. J. Moore, C. A.
MULLER, Miss M. Potter, R. Ranft, Mrs B. SNow.

After supper the Editor read a short note from Mr J. G. Parker on a recent sighting of
Finsch’s Wheatear Oenanthe finschii on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, in an area where
it had also been seen in 1993 and breeding was suspected. The habitat is untypical of the
species, limestone cliffs falling sharply down to the sea. Breeding, if proved, would mean
a very substantial range extension from the nearest known breeding area in inland
Turkey. Mr Parker urged anyone visiting coastal Bulgaria to be on the look-out for this
species.

The principal speaker of the evening was Mr Richard ffrench, who spoke on “‘Bird
Sounds from the Neotropics”. Sounds from about 50 neotropical species were presented.
The first group comprised mainly common species of forests or semi-open woodland,
including gregarious birds like oropendolas, caciques and chachalacas, and undergrowth
species, some of them in duet, such as wrens and antbirds. Certain cotingas and manakins
were illustrated in more detail, with descriptions of their often complex and ritualistic
displays; the fascinating communal displays of Chiroxiphia manakins were described,
showing some differences in calls from different regions. Finally, a group of interesting
calls were presented, many from heterogeneous species inhabiting gallery forest or
wetlands, followed by songs from seven species, including four different wrens, with
particularly beautiful command of tone, pitch, variation of mood and rhythmic
inventiveness.

The eight hundred and forty-second meeting of the Club was held on Tuesday, 9 August
1994, at 6.15 p.m. in the Ante-room of the Sherfield Building at Imperial College. 15
Members and 10 Guests attended.

Members attending were: D. GriFFIN (Chairman), M. A. Apcockx, Miss H. BAKER,
P. J. BeLMAN, D. J. CALDER, Professor R. CHANDLER, S. J. FARNSWORTH, A. GiBsBs, The
Revd T. W. Grapwin, R. H. Ketrie, Mrs A. M. Moore, Mrs M. Mutter, Dr T. J.
Roserts, P. J. SELLAR, N. H. F. STONE.

Guests attending were: Professor JACQUES VIELLIARD (Speaker), P. DELALOYE, Mrs F.
FaRNSWoRTH, Mrs J. GLADWIN, A. GREENSMITH, Mrs S. GriFFIN, P. J. Moore, R.
RANFT, C. SNooxs, Miss R. WARREN.

After supper the speaker was Professor Vielliard and his title was ‘‘Hummingbirds also
sing: a survey of Brazilian bird vocalisations’’. Professor Vielliard has sent the following
summary of his talk.

Although renowned for the unique brilliance of their plumage, hummingbirds are also
expert singers. Surprisingly, they utter very complex vocalisations in spite of relying on
sophisticated visual displays and of being equipped with a relatively simple syrinx. These
sounds remain poorly known because they are high-pitched and unimpressive. The vocal
repertoire of hummingbirds is made up mostly of aggressive calls, but a species-specific
stereotyped song exists in all well studied species, emitted singly or in lek, persistently or
sometimes very sporadically. The physical structure of hummingbird voices is extremely
varied and attains the greatest complexity known among birds. This was illustrated by

Meetings 210 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

sonagrams and tapes, which also included some other Brazilian species noteworthy for
their voice (in particular the remarkable mimicry of the Lawrence’s Thrush Turdus
lawrencii), and some recently described species.

The eight hundred and forty-third meeting of the Club was held on Tuesday, 20
September 1994, at 6.15 p.m. in the Senior Common Room of the Sherfield Building at
Imperial College. 35 Members and 12 Guests attended.

Members attending were: D. GRIFFIN (Chairman), Dr Storrs OLSON (Speaker), M. A.
Apvcock, Dr J. S. AsH, Miss H. Baker, P. J. BeLtman, I. R. BisHop, P. J. BULL,
M. Bruce, D. R. CaLpEr, Cdr M. B. Casement, Dr R. A. CHEKE, S.J. FARNSwWorTH, Dr
C. J. Harrison, C. A. R. HELM, R. KetTTvLe, Dr R. Liversipce, Dr C. Mann, Dr J. F.
Monk, D. J. Montier, Mrs A. M. Moore, R. G. Morcan, Mrs M. Mutter, P. J.
O.iver, R. E. F. PEaL, Dr R. Pr¥s-Jonges, N. J. REpman, R. E. Scott, P. J. SELLAR, P.
WILLIAM SmiTH, Dr D. W. Snow, S. A. H. StatHam, N. H. F. Stone, Dr C. VIOLANtI,
M. P. WaLTERs.

Guests attending were: Mrs J. AsH, Mrs G. BoNHAM, Mrs J. BULL, Dr Avis James, Dr
H. LiversipGE, Mrs R. LiverstpGeE, Mrs M. Montier, P. J. Moore, Mrs A. Scott, Mrs
S. SmitH, J. STEwWarRT, G. WraGG.

After supper Dr Storrs Olson spoke on “‘Seabirds of the North Atlantic through 20
million years’’. He has sent the following account of his talk.

A very good fossil record of marine birds is now available from the North Atlantic,
founded mainly on some hundreds of bones of Middle Miocene age (14 million years ago)
from cliffs along the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and Virginia, and from tens of
thousands of bones from a phosphate mine at Lee Creek, North Carolina, some of which
are contemporaneous but most of which are early Pliocene (4 million years) in age. The
little known from the eastern North Atlantic indicates equivalent or identical faunas at
these times. The middle Miocene was a time of low species diversity, many of the species
being substantially different from modern ones. In the early Pliocene, species diversity
was much greater than previously or at present, although structurally, most of the
seabirds were either identical to modern species or essentially modern in aspect. Birds
that swarmed in the tremendously productive upwellings off North Carolina included
a multitude of shearwaters, 5 species of albatrosses, a dozen species of auks and
puffins, several species of gannets, perhaps three species of gigantic pseudotoothed
Pelecaniformes, two cormorants, the three modern species lineages of divers, as well as
various ducks and geese (the commonest being Harlequin Duck), etc. Closing of the
Panamanian seaway at the end of the Pliocene and the resulting disruptions of currents
and upwelling, along with the climatic rigours of the Pleistocene, caused numerous global
or local extinctions. Pseudodontorns disappeared worldwide, albatrosses vanished from
the North Atlantic, along with various shearwaters, several species of auks related to
Alca, a puffin, and others. In partial compensation, guillemots (Cepphus and Uria)
colonised the Atlantic from the Pacific during the Pleistocene.

J. H. Becking 211 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

On the biology and voice of the Javan Scops
Owl Otus angelinae

by 7. H. Becking

Received 23 August 1993

The Javan Scops Owl Otus angelinae described by O. Finsch in 1912 is
an endemic of Java. It is apparently rare as there are only ten specimens
in museum collections, i.e. eight specimens in the Leiden Museum
(NNM), including the type collected by M. E. G. Bartels Sr. on Mt
Pangrango, and two in the Bogor Museum (ZMB); one from Cibodas,
the other from Ijen, eastern Java. It is so far known only from two
localities (Mt Pangrango/Gede and Mt Tangkubanperahu) in western
Java, and one locality in eastern Java. About its biology very little is
known. Andrew & Milton (1988) reported an observation of two
fledglings of this species encountered on the NNE slope of Mt
Pangrango in February 1985, but the adults were not seen.

There have been widely divergent opinions on the taxonomic status
and relationships of O. angelinae, especially as its voice is unknown.
G. P. Hekstra (in Burton 1973) regarded it as conspecific with
O. spilocephalus, which ranges from the Himalayas to Taiwan and
Sumatra; Sibley & Monroe (1990) also mention that as a possibility. Its
relationship with O. brooki (Sharpe 1892) has been confused by the
belief that brooki1, a montane species occurring in Borneo and Sumatra,
also occurs on Java. However, a re-examination of the unique specimen
(collected in March 1916 in the Ijen Highlands, eastern Java; MZB
11752) on which its supposed occurrence in Java has been based, shows
that it was misidentified and is in fact a specimen of O. angelinae. Otus
angelinae is therefore almost certainly the only montane scops owl in
Java, and a Javan endemic. A full discussion of its taxonomy will be
given in a separate paper. In view of its very restricted distribution and
its unknown status, it is listed as threatened in the recent ICBP World
Checklist of Threatened Birds (Collar & Andrew 1988).

In July 1990, returning in the early evening from the summit of Mt
Gede/Pangrango (3019 m), being at about 1500-1600 m and heading
towards the Cibodas Mountain Garden, my attention was drawn to a
hissing sound. This proved to be the contact call of two fledglings of
the Javan Scops Owl. Taking advantage of the opportunity to study
this uncommon species, I camped nearby and studied the owls for
about 23 weeks with a short interruption of a few days. The
observations made during this period and some additional records of
this owl at other localities are the subject of this paper.

(Frontispiece) Javan Scops Owl Otus angelinae in daytime roost in dense, entangled
vegetation of stems of Cyrtandra picta (Gesneriaceae) at low level (1.20 m). Cibeureum
waterfalls, Mt Gede/Pangrango, 1900 m, 14 July 1991.

Photo: Manuel Ruedi (Univ. Lausanne).

J. H. Becking 212 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

Methods

The owls were studied for 17 consecutive nights (2-18 July 1990) with
a short absence on four nights. The number of hours spent for
observation varied per evening, in the beginning short, and later longer.
When the birds allowed it, I usually observed a maximum of 4-5 hrs
per night. On some nights, however, hardly any observations could be
made due to heavy rain. Because of these adverse conditions, care was
taken not to disturb the feedings of the young. At first the adult owls
were very shy and much frightened by torchlight, and refused to
approach the young when I was in the neighbourhood. For these
reasons some adaptation time was necessary and I only gradually
increased the period of observation till the maximum of 4-5 hrs was
reached. Moonlit nights (in which torchlight was not needed) were
especially favourable for observations. Considerable time was spent in
obtaining voice recordings and some photographic documentation.
Especially the latter was hard to achieve, because of the steep, broken
terrain and luxuriant undergrowth.

Vocalizations were recorded with an Uher 4000 Report IC
tape-recorder fitted with a Sennheiser directional microphone
(Electrocondensator microphone type ME 88) at a tape speed of
19.5 cm/sec. ‘The sounds were analysed with a Digital Sona-Graph
7800 (Dual Channel Spectrograph) connected with a Sona-Graph
Printer 7900, both of Kay Elemetrics Co., Pine Brook, New Jersey,
WES sAe

Geographic names are according to Atlas Indonesia by 1. Made
Sandy (P. T. Dhasawarna & Jurusan Geografie FMIPA, Univ.
Indonesia, ed. 6th, 1986). The coordinates given were calculated from
survey-maps (1:50,000) of the Dutch East Indies Topographic Service.

The study area

The study site (06°45’S, 106°59’E) was virgin montane rain-forest of
the Mt Gede/Pangrango National Park on the NNE slope of this twin
volcano at an elevation of c. 1500-1600 m. The owls were encountered
en route by using an alternative trail (to the east of the main trail)
towards the Cibodas Mountain Garden. The site was about halfway
between the Cibeureum Falls and the Cibodas Mountain Garden. The
virgin forest here had in the upper storey very large trees of Altingia
excelsa (native name Rasamala, usually up to 40-55m high and
sometimes with a base diameter of 2.5m), a number of oak species
(e.g. Quercus elegans, O. pseudo-molucca), chestnut trees (Castanopsis
argentea, C. tungurrut), and figs (e.g. Ficus involucrata). During the
observations the owls and owlets kept mainly to the middle and lower
storeys of the forest. The vegetation at this level contained a wide
diversity of trees, too many to list; among the commonest were
Villebrunnea rubescens, two species of Turpinia (T. pomiflora, T.
sphaerocarpa), Saurauia pendula, numerous Eugenia and Litsea species,
Euonymus javanicus, Ilex spicata, Olea javanica, and Pithecellobium
montanum. At ground level were numerous shrubs and herbs, certainly
comprising many hundreds of species. Very conspicuous in this forest

Plate 1. Upper. Active Otus angelinae photographed at night shows a round, rather
puffed appearance and no ear tufts. It holds a praying mantid (Hzerodula flava) diagonally
between its mandibles.

Lower. Otus angelinae adult about to feed a praying mantid (Hierodula flava) to its
offspring.

Mt Gede/Pangrango, 1600 m, July 1990. Photo: J. H. Becking.

Plate 2. Young of Otus angelinae. The larger (upper) and the smaller young (lower) of the
same brood.
Mt Gede/Pangrango, 1600 m, July 1990. Photo: J. H. Becking.

J. A. Becking 213 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

type is the occurrence of numerous lianes, especially Vitaceae, and
climbing rattan palms (Calamus and Plectocomia spp.) with long
extended leaf rhachides armed with vicious recurved thorns. Climbing
pandans (Pandanus lais) and a small palm, Pinanga kuhlu, are
abundant. The branches of trees are usually heavily overgrown with a
wide variety of lichens and epiphytes such as orchids, ferns and mosses;
epiphytic bird’s nest ferns (Asplenium nidus) are especially common.
The ground layer is thickly covered with dead, partly decomposed,
leaves forming an excellent substrate for a wide variety of ferns and
ginger species (Amomum coccineum, Nicolaia solaris). Plant lists and
inventories of this montane rain-forest can be found in Koorders (1914,
1918-23), Seifriz (1923), Meijer (1959) and Yamada (1990).

The climate is cool with an average day temperature of 17°C. In the
study period the temperature gradually dropped at night, reaching a
minimum of 9-11°C in the early morning (c. 5-6a.m.). The average
annual rainfall in this area is 3400 mm and the relative humidity inside
the forest is always nearly 90%.

Field observations

Observations on 2—5 July 1990

On 2 July 1990 at 18.30hrs, at the site detailed above, a hard
tsischschsch-tsischschsch sound was heard. The hissing sound, repeated
every 2—6 seconds, was audible at a distance of at least 40-50 m. When
I approached the sound, the beam of my torch revealed two fledgling
owlets perching close together (with body contact) on a thick bare
bough about 4 m from the ground and 25 m from the trail. The owlets
became restless and tried to escape from the light by fluttering to other
branches with unhandy clambering movements using their claws and
uneasy flapping of their wings. During these movements the yellowish
markings on the outer vanes of the primaries and the yellow transverse
bands on the underside of the spread tail were very conspicuous.
Because of their awkward movements and fluffy appearance, it was
obvious that they were fledglings. Their medium size, prominent
whitish eyebrow streaks, a russet-brown face mask, and the yellowish
markings on primaries and tail, indicated that they were Otus angelinae.
No ear tufts could be detected. The underparts of the owlets appeared
whitish, sparsely transversely barred or vermiculated over the breast
with rufous bands of downy feathers. The breast feathers hardly
showed the dark vertical blackish-brown shaft pattern known for the
adults. The lower abdomen seemed to be nearly immaculate. The tail
was very short and did not extend beyond the wings. The tarsi were
closely feathered down to the toe-joint, and the toes appeared to be pale
yellowish-flesh like the bills. In torchlight their eyes showed up as vivid
reddish-brown (the wide open pupil) surrounded by an orange ring (the
iris).

One fledgling was considerably larger than the other (Plate 2). It was
noteworthy that whenever the fledglings were separated from each
other by disturbance, as soon as this was over they tried to come
together and often remained together in body contact with one another.

J. H. Becking 214 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

‘This behaviour continued during the whole fledgling period till they
were nearly full-grown. Allopreening was, however, never seen.

The first night of observation (2/3 July) was a rather clear night with
only some temporary fog and short periods of fine rain. Because the
owls were rather shy and frightened by torchlight, I stationed myself at
some distance in order to avoid disturbance or any interruption of the
feedings. In complete darkness it was, however, easy to register the
frequency of the feedings by the intensive begging and screaming calls
of the young.

The owls were completely nocturnal as activity only started after
dusk (18 hrs). At the beginning of the evening (c. 18.30-19.30 hrs) prey
was brought to the two young about 2—4 times in 30 minutes. Between
19.30 and 21.00 hrs the feeding intervals were considerably longer and
the young called less frequently and less intensively. After 21.00 hrs
there were also periods in which the young were completely silent, and
after 23.30 hrs no more calling was heard, although the owlets could
still be spotted. As already mentioned, the adults were shy and
frightened by the torchlight, and came to the young very reluctantly; in
consequence, initially only a brief view of one of the adults could be
obtained. ‘This was only accidentally, as the adults were extremely
active and alert and continuously changed their position. The short
view was, however, sufficient to confirm their identity as Otus angelinae,
as evident from the vivid golden-yellow iris, conspicuous white-frosted
eyebrows, buffy collar on the hindneck, and rufous transversely
vermiculated pattern with discrete vertical blotching of the central
shafts of feathers on the ventral side. ‘The head showed a prominent
round rufous facial disc and the absence of eartufts. Later observations
of the adults showed a spherical, rather puffed appearance, a widely
spread tail, and no trace of ear tufts (Plate 1). Because of the rather
great distance at which these initial observations were made, no
information could be obtained on the identity of the prey items.

The weather on the second night (3/4 July) was unfavourable with
continuous rain, and I only succeeded in making some sound
recordings of the contact call given by the young (Fig. 3), which was
accompanied with a continuous rattle of splashing rain-drops on leaves,
branches and microphone. However, the following night was
exceptionally clear and fine. There was a nearly full moon and the owls
could be spotted and regularly followed without the aid of torchlight.
From these observations it became evident that the prey brought to the
young were mainly large insects, such as beetles (seen as round objects),
locusts, crickets, and large stick insects (only seen as long objects).
Closer examination was not possible, because of the shyness of the
adults and my fear for interrupting the feedings.

When one of the adults arrived with food the normal advertising call
of the young, the continuously repeated tszschschsch-tsischschsch ...,
increased in pitch and turned into a sort of drawn-out wailing and
screaming. Usually only one adult arrived at a perch near the young.
However, in view of the sometimes extremely short intervals between
successive feedings and the occasional observation of two adults
arriving at the same time, of which one waited while the other delivered

¥. H. Becking 215 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

the food, it was clear that both adults were involved in the feeding
process. During this clear night, moreover, two new observations were
made. First, when I approached the young in the dark, the adult on a
perch gave an explosive and startling disyllabic hoot, pooo-poo (Fig.
2A). This call was uttered initially in a rapidly repeated series of 5—6
hoots in half a minute. It seemed to act as an alarm call, produced when
the adult was very excited and concerned for the safety of its young. On
later occasions this call was again provoked under similar conditions,
but was only repeated two or three times. Later on, the call was only
very rarely heard, apparently because the owls had become used to my
presence.

The second important observation made on this night was that the
adults, in trying to lure the owlets away from me by offering the food at
some distance, also produced the tsitschschsch-tsischschsch hissing
contact call. Previously I had been uncertain of this, because adults and
young were mostly too close to each other to distinguish their voices.
As will be discussed later, the sound produced by the adults is
somewhat higher in pitch and sounds purer and less scratchy than that
produced by the young.

During their attendance by the parents the young regularly moved
around, probably following one of the parents, in a radius of 100-400 m
from the original spot. As already indicated, after 21.30 hrs the hissing
contact calls of the young were produced at longer intervals (once in
4—6 sec), and later in the night they finally gradually faded away. In the
early morning (4-5 a.m.), however, there was always some revival in
calling and of feeding sessions. With the approach of daylight the
hissing calls of the young completely stopped, and without the calls to
guide me, I was unable to trace the daytime roost of this pair and their
young. I presume that they roosted on a thick limb or bird’s-nest fern
high up in a tree and were therefore invisible from below.

Later observations

This part of the study was conducted between 9 and 17 July, after an
absence of four days. I was able to find the owlets again relatively easily
by their hissing sounds during the night; they had moved 300-400 m
from the original spot. At this age the size difference between the young
was still apparent, but not so great as earlier. At the end of the
observation period, nine days later, they appeared to be approximately
equal in size; they were then apparently nearly full-grown. About at
this age (and some days before), when disturbed by an intruder, the
owlets made swaying body movements, sometimes also a curious
bending of the body and a swaying of the lowered head.

Since the owlets as well as the adults had become more used to my
presence, closer and more detailed observations could be made of the
food offered to the young. The young usually beg in a prone posture
with quivering wings, calling loudly. ‘The adults generally dismember
large prey items such as beetles and the larger winged insects before
presenting parts of them to the young. This they do by transferring the
prey from the bill to the feet, holding it in the claws, and pulling it to
pieces. I could hear the elytra of beetles and wings and other parts of

J. H. Becking 216 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

these dismembered insects fall to the ground, but I could never recover
them later, even after intensive search, owing to the luxuriance of the
ground vegetation. Moreover, I never found ejected pellets, but this
might have been expected because the owlets did not stay in one place
very long and I did not find their daytime roost. When waiting on a thick
limb for food the owlets tended to adopt a somewhat cryptic attitude by
assuming a flattened posture along the main axis of the limb or branch.

Prey items

I could finally approach close enough to the owlets to be able to identify
the prey items delivered by the adults by sight. Of 21 food deliveries
which I could see at close quarters, 4 were large beetles (probably
Cerambycidae and Lucanidae, see later), 8 were praying mantids
(Mantidae), 1 a stick insect or walking stick (Pseudophasmatidae or
Phasmidae), 5 large green long-horned grasshoppers or leaf grasshop-
pers (‘Tettigoniidae:Pseudophyllinae and Phaneropterinae), 3 crickets
(Gryllidae) or mole crickets (Gryllotalpidae, Gryllotalpa sp.). The large
percentage (38% of the food) of praying mantids was noteworthy; they
are rather inconspicuous by day in such a forest, but are very active
at night, making short flights from stem to stem. In doing so they
may attract the attention of the owls. The main mantid species
involved could be identified to species level; it was Hierodula flava
(Mantidae:Mantinae) (Plate 1), a green species, rather common in Java.
It was also collected near the site of observation as it was attracted by
lamp light. At least six of the mantids were this species; one other was
a grey-black spotted praying mantid, probably Theopompa or Liturgusa
sp. (Mantidae: Liturgusinae), and one pure white species with a pointed
head, a so-called flower mantid, very probably Hymenopus coronatus
(Mantidae:Hymenopodinae). The Tettigoniid prey were probably
Holochlora and Mecopoda spp. (Phaneropterinae); an apparently
identical leaf- or sickle-grasshopper collected at the site was identified
as Holochlora venosa. The beetles brought were about 2.0—3.5 cm in
diameter. Even from a relatively short distance they were impossible to
identify to species level as they did not protrude far enough from the
beak. Probably they were species of Lucanidae (stag-beetles) and
Scarabaeidae (scarab-beetles) as representatives of these groups were
regularly seen flying and were trapped by lamp light near the site. A
reddish stag-beetle, Metopodontus cinnamomeus, and a scarab-beetle,
Xylotrupes sp., were swarming at that time. Serrognathus gypaetus,
Neolucanus laticollis and Dichodontus croesus also occurred very
regularly at the site.

With regard to the hunting technique, a few observations indicate
that the prey is seized with the claws from a branch, stem, leaf, or even
from the ground after the owl’s attention is drawn to it by its
movements. There was no indication that insects are caught in flight,
because when beetles or other apparently suitable insects flew close to
the owls, they were ignored. Tettigoniids, a regular prey, are rather
sluggish insects, but at night the males tend to produce strident notes
with a stridulating organ, which may attract the owls.

F. H. Becking 217 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

The food of the adults is evidently about the same as that offered to
the young. Occasionally prey brought to the young was finally eaten by
the adults themselves. Mr M. E. G. Bartels Sr. examined the stomach
contents of 4 adult specimens of Otus angelinae collected by him on the
SW side of Mt Pangrango/Gede. He found 3x (in 3 of the 4 birds)
remains of Coleoptera, including once a large long-horned woodboring
beetle (Cerambycidae); 2 X earwigs (Dermaptera), especially conspicu-
ous in the stomach contents by their hard, indigestible anal forceps
(probably Cranopygia marmoricrura, a common species in montane
forest); 1 X parts of a large grasshopper (Orthoptera); and 1 X remains
of a small reptile or lizard. A young specimen of O. angelinae kept by
him for 3 months in an aviary took very readily crickets (Gryllidae),
when these were offered (M. E. G. Bartels, unpublished diary notes in
NNM,, Leiden).

Voice

Otus angelinae is generally a very silent owl. I never heard a male’s
advertising call. In several other encounters with it (see later), I only
once at night heard its cat-like hissing call, but never the main call,
which seems to be reserved for situations of great stress or alarm (see
below). During my study of this pair with their young, four different
calls were recorded from the adult owls, and three from the young.

Vocalizations of the adults

Contact call. A cat-like hissing tch-tschschsch (or tsischschsch), less
scratchy, more tonal and usually of higher frequency (6.0—7.5 kHz) and
longer duration (0.40—0.51 sec) than the contact call produced by the
young (see Fig. 1 and compare with Fig. 3). It was given by the adults
when approaching the young or trying to lure them away (see above).
Several times both the contact calls of the young and those of the
answering adults were recorded at the same time on tape showing
clearly the difference in pitch.

Main call of the female. A very explosive and startling disyllabic
pooo-poo (Fig. 2A). The first note has a duration of 0.25 sec and shows
a frequency modulation between 0.5—-1.25 kHz; the second note is
0.23 sec with a modulation between 0.5-1.10 kHz. As shown in the
sonagram the second note is always lower in pitch than the first note.
The interval between the two notes is 0.32 sec. The call is so powerful
that the sonagraph produces three overtones reaching a level of 4 kHz
with intermediate frequency intervals at about 2 and 3 kHz. This call
was produced by the female as a kind of alarm call for defending and
warning the young. It was sometimes given in a series of 5—6 two-note
calls with intervals of a few seconds; on other occasions it was only
repeated 3 or 4 times.

Main call of the male. A much lower and softer hoo-hoo (Fig. 2B). I
assume that this was the male’s call since in other owl species it is usual
for the male’s call to be lower-pitched than the female’s (Cramp 1985,
J. T. Marshall pers. comm.). This call was sometimes given during or
after feeding the young, apparently as a warning or when danger

J. H. Becking 218 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

kHz

8 8
7 enrol 7 alia
6 6

0.0 0.25 0.50 0.75 0.0 0.25 0.50 0.75 sec
8 8
6 6

0.0 0.25 0.50 0.75 0.0 0.25 0.50 0.75 sec

Figure 1. Sonagrams of the contact call of the adults.

3.0
kHz
4.0 A Ze t h
3.0 A iN 1.0 A A
N ae, A
2.0
0.0 0.50 1.00 1.50 sec
1.0 an ~
A 1.0
0.0 0.50 1.00 1.50 A A A
Cc
0.0 0.50 1.00 1.50 sec

Figure 2. Sonagrams of vocalizations of the adults. A, main call of female; B, main call of
male; C, ‘comfort call’ of the male, when he comes to the young.

threatened. The male and female calls were never heard in association,
i.e. as a duet. They were always uttered independently of each other on
various occasions on different days, but in rather similar situations. The
frequency range is between 0.25—-0.75 kHz, the first and the second note
have a duration of 0.18 and 0.10 sec, respectively; their interval is
0.60 sec. As evident from the sonagram it has the same structure as the
main call of the female. The second note is usually lower in pitch than

F. H. Becking 219 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

U kHz
6 Ae 7
5 6
4 5
3 4
0.0 0.25 0.50 0.0 0.25 O50 Sec

Figure 3. Sonagrams of the contact call of the young of Otus angelinae. Left, ‘scratchy’;
right, more ‘smooth’.

the first, but rarely may be of about the same pitch. The male call is,
however, far less powerful and explosive than that of the female.
Consequently, only two overtones are produced reaching to about
PAOIKkETz:

Peace or comfort call. A low, soft wook-wook-wook (Fig. 2C). This
call was sometimes uttered by the male during pauses in the feeding of
the young or after feeding. Its frequency spectrum is between
0.3-0.75 kHz. The call lasts only 0.77 sec, and each note has a duration
of 0.08-0.15 sec, with intervals of 0.3 sec.

Vocalizations of the young

Contact call. A hissing tch-tschschsch (or tsischschsch), of surprisingly
constant duration (0.31 sec, very seldom a fraction longer). Its pitch
and timbre, however, may vary. It is usually more or less scratchy, as
apparent from the rather great frequency modulations in the sonagram
(Fig. 3, left), but sometimes it can also be more tonal and therefore
smooth (Fig. 3, right). Time measurements obtained from tape
recordings made in the early evening (18.30 hrs) indicate that the
contact call was repeated 16 times in 30 seconds giving an average
interval of 1.9 sec between each phrase. The intervals between the calls
were, however, irregular, ranging from 1 to 4sec. As two fledglings
were involved in this recording, the average interval between the calls
of one bird is c. 4 sec. At about 21.00 hrs 10 calls were recorded for two
fledglings in 30 seconds (average interval 6 sec per bird), and later in
the evening the frequency of calling still further decreased, as already
described. On one occasion when the fledglings were separated from
each other, one of them called 14 times in one minute (at 20.15 hrs).

Food calls. When the young are approached by the parents to be fed,
the contact call changes, usually gradually, into a screaming begging
call, usually somewhat higher in pitch and of longer duration (usually
0.47-0.66 sec; Fig. 4). Sometimes, however, the begging calls are more
prolonged (1.1-1.4 sec; Fig. 5), probably because the food is first
dissected before it is offered to the young. During the feeding process

J. H. Becking 220 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

, jg

0.0 0.25 0.50 0.75

Figure 4. Sonagrams of food calls of the young owlets.

tc eer

JA eevee el |e te

0.0 0.25 0.50 0.75 1,00 1.25 1.50 1.75 sec

Figure 5. Sonagrams of extended begging calls of the young, showing in addition
bill-snapping (vertical lines) of the young.

and just before and after it, bill-snapping can often be heard. The
bill-snaps are audible to the human ear as dry clicks and appear in the
sonagrams as vertical lines extending to c. 8kHz (Fig. 5). Very
probably the bill-snaps were produced only by the young, as

F. H. Becking 221 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

bill-snapping occurred only during feeding and more frequently when
the young were very hungry, i.e. at the beginning of the evening. Under
these conditions it may occur in rather rapid succession at intervals of
0.1—-0.3 sec.

Twittering. A fast twittering or chittering gick-gick-gick is often
produced by the young before and during feeding. It sounds rather
similar to the twittering sound of young Barn Owls Tyto alba and some
other owl species, also some swifts (e.g. Hydrochous gigas), when being

fed.

Other records

Table 1 lists the localities, in order from west to east, from which Otus
angelinae is known. Apart from the observation of Andrew & Milton
(1988) and my observations discussed in this paper, all field records
refer to single birds at daytime roosts or in places where they have
perched after being disturbed. According to my experience the Javan
Scops Owl usually perches with little concealment on a bare branch of
a tree c. 3-5 m high, but occasionally much lower at c. 1-2 m above the
ground (see Frontispiece). They apparently rely completely on their
camouflage. Active birds at night never showed signs of ear tufts, but
roosting birds by day exhibit very pronounced long ear-tufts, which
they are able to raise vertically if they are aware of being watched or
approached by man. In this concealing attitude, the so-called
sleeked-upright posture, the body is stretched upward with feathers
sleeked and half-closed eyes. In this tense posture their camouflage is
very effective, and one may very easily pass these owls at close range
without noticing them.

Breeding

There are three records of the breeding of Otus angelinae, all of recently
fledged young; one on 4 February 1985 (Andrew & Milton 1988); one
on 2 July 1990 (this paper); and a record of a recently fledged young
brought to M. E. G. Bartels (Pasir Datar, SW slope Mt Pangrango)
at the beginning July 1921, which was kept by him for 3 months in
an aviary, before it died (25.9.1921, NNM 45836). Based on the
incubation period (24-25 days) and the fledging period (average c. 25
days) of the Palaearctic Otus scops of about the same weight and size
(Koenig 1973, Cramp 1985), the approximate laying dates of the eggs
of O. angelinae can be calculated. For the two July records the
estimated laying date of the eggs is the 2nd week of May (c. 10-12 May)
and for the February record the 2nd week of December (c. 12-14 Dec).
These three records, however, do not justify a conclusion about a
breeding season. There may be two peaks, one long season, or irregular
breeding all year round. The size differences of the two young studied
in this paper indicate asynchronous hatching, which is also known for
other scops owls, including Otus scops, and for some other owl species.
In the two Otus angelinae fledglings observed, I estimate that the
egg-laying interval must be at least 3-4 days. The nest site of the owls

Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

J. H. Becking

AGENT)
INNN #8! 948 susutisads pajso[joo 19y30 [[e “(1050q) Gq ZI Ur e4e yoryM usuroads spuRlYysIfF{ ual] oyy pue usuio9ds s.eyoy, ideoxg :010N)

(uyoo1g ‘GQ sv paynuept (G,+1.+-11 “S,20.8

Ay1aui10j—uoun9ads poya][09) sso[y] “Gf “DO 2% uosurqoy *D “H OTOL €°87 OLIT ‘Yorof Suopos ‘opis YS) spuelysipy ual]
(G,17Z.801 “S,St.9
(staqaig “dQ “HY UONda][O9 x9 ‘usuUTDads payoa[[oo) Uapuayy ‘f “[ OL61 182 OOLL ‘Andy ‘odoys jy) Avulotod IA
: (A,LE.LOL “S,S¥.9 “10381D
(uawtseds pajsa[[oo) AoOS[eg uvA [Ay SS6L ITI OO8I ‘ado[s AN) nyesodueqnysur |, iA
(ed0rdstVUOLYy 998
‘pirg a[surs ‘proses Wyss) pany “JAI B Buppeg °H ‘[ 1o6T Inf
(aoded juasoaid ‘p10991 yYysIs) Surysog “Fy ‘[ 0661 Inf
(soptusant 7 ‘piosad YSIS) 886] UOUNAL “UO %B Morpuy ‘d S861 COF
(pate euls prot els) Us eee ble Egor Inf (4,00.L01 S,S+.9
(pirg a[suls ‘piooai 1YsIs) suryppog “HY ‘[ LL61 PO ‘yivg [RUONeNY OSueisueg-9po5)
(piiq a[suls “ptosas Wyss) Suryoog “Hf 1Z61 YO 0061-00$1 IA) ‘OSuv1suUeq-9payy “IJ
(paqoa]]oo ao ‘4aBaX YoRs Z (A,6S.901 ‘S,+b.9 ‘SBpoqiD)
‘paxou Spllq $ :0261 9° 8I-ST ‘6961 AON 97-SZ) PYOL “WW O0L-6961 OStI adojs YNN ‘osurisueg-apey Al
(uauntsads paqoa[[oo) sjo1ieg “9 “WY IN 9761 60°61
(usuntseds payse][09) spaueg “ “AW CCOL LO'FC
(uautoads paysa][09) sjaeg “ “A IN Tcol 60°SC (H,€5.901 °S,0S.9
(uosutseds poaqoa[[oo) sja1ieg “9 “| [A O161'+0'+7 O00ST-O001 ‘1eqeq seg) odojs AAS ‘osuvisued i
(4,9S.901 S,9+.9
(usutoeds pa1da][[09) sjouieg “9 “YW 076160 07 O€8l 2 ‘Aytpeao[-adAq) adojs AAG ‘osueRisurd I
(H,9S.901 °S,9b.9
(usuttoads paide][O9) sjalieg “9 “WJ LI6L'80°SZ OF8T 2 ‘Ayipedo]-9dA}) adojs AAG ‘osueisurd iA
Z 2 L861 ?O 3 (A.rr.901 S,1+.9
(spirg o]suls ‘sp1odo1 1YSIs) Suryoog “HY ‘[ LL61 Inf OOTIL “2 ‘Agyjea sndeiyg ‘osdols ANN) AeleS HA
IJAIISGO/10199][OD so1eq (uw) apnin[ty AqBoo'T

IDULJASUD SNIC) JO SP1OIIY
LT dvlaVvib

JF. A. Becking 223 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

was not found. One may speculate that it may be a tree hole or on the
top of a bird’s nest fern (Asplentum nidus). The latter cannot be
excluded as E. Bartels (pers. comm.) twice flushed a female bird from
such a site on the SW slope of Mt Pangrango (Bartels collection, NNM
45837 & 45838). The full clutch of Otus angelinae probably consists of
two eggs, like Otus bakkamoena and most other small owls of this
region.

Summary

Otus angelinae is an elusive and a rather silent denizen of the submontane and montane
forest on Java; it is a Javan endemic, and its biology and voice were unknown. The
present paper describes for the first time the voice and the behaviour of the adults and the
young during their post-fledging period. Several types of vocalization of adults and young
were recorded. The most prominent call is that of the female, an explosive double-hoot
pooo-poo. This call is much louder and at a higher pitch than that of the male. Both adults
and fledged young produced a hissing cat-like contact call. The food calls of the young
and those during feeding were also recorded. The owls were studied for 17 successive
nights, near the end of which they probably became independent. The behaviour of the
adults and the food offered to the young are described. Prey items were insects, mainly
Orthoptera:Mantidae (praying mantids) and ‘Tettigoniidae (long-horned or leaf
grasshoppers), and some Coleoptera, probably Lucanidae (stag-beetles), Scarabaeidae
(scarab-beetles) and Cerambycidae (long-horned wood-boring beetles). The first
photographic records of the adults and young of this species are presented.

Acknowledgements

I thank the head, curator and collection managers of the Bogor Museum (MZB)
Mohammed Amir (Director), Sri Paryanti, M. Noerdjito, Dewi M. Prawiradilaga, and
Prof. S. Somadikarta for their permission and help in examining material of the museum;
the authorities and curator of the bird collections of the Natural History Museum at
Tring for allowing me to examine types and other owl specimens under their care; the
curator of the bird collection of the National Museum of Natural History (NNM) at
Leiden Dr R. Dekker and Mr P. van Dam, for permission to examine specimens in their
possession, particularly the Bartels collection; and the entomologists Dr J. van Tol
(NNM) and Mr P. Kuijten (NNM) in helping me to classify the prey insects. I thank Dr
Manuel Ruedi (Institut de zoologie et d’écologie animale, Université de Lausanne) for
the colour photograph of Otus angelinae. Finally, | acknowledge my daughter Priska for
first hearing the owls.

The drafts of this papers have been seen and commented on by a number of persons. I
thank Prof. Voous (Huizen, NL), Dr Joe T. Marshall (National Museum of Natural
History, Washington, D.C.), Mr Ben King (American Museum of Natural History, New
York), and particularly Dr D. W. Snow for useful criticism. As in a number of cases I
have followed my own opinion, none of these persons is responsible for any fault made by
the author.

References:

Andrew, P. & Milton, G. R. 1988. A note on the Javan Scops-Owl Otus angelinae. Kukila
3: 79-81.

Burton, J. A. (ed.) 1973. Owls of the World, their evolution, structure and ecology.
Eurobook Lim.

Collar, N. J. & Andrew, P. 1988. Birds to Watch. The ICBP World Checklist of
Threatened Birds. 1CBP Techn. Publ. no. 8

Cramp, S. (ed.) 1985. The Birds of the Western Palearere Vol. 4. Oxford Univ. Press.

Koenig, L. 1973. Das Aktionssystem der Zwergohreule Otus scops scops (Linné 1758).
Z. Tierpsychol., Beiheft 13.

Koorders, S. H. 1914. Floristischer Ueberblick tiber die Blitenpflanzen des Urwaldes
von Tjibodas auf dem Vulkan Gede in West-Java nebst einer Nummerliste und einer

P. A. Clancey 224 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

systematischen Uebersicht der dort ftir botanische Untersuchungen von mir
numerierten Waldbaume. Botan. Jahrb. 50: 278-303.

Koorders, S. H. 1918-23. Flora von Tyibodas. 3 vols. Boekhandel Visser & Co, Batavia.

Meier, W. 1959. Plantsociological analysis of montane rainforest near T'jibodas, West
Java. Acta Botan. Neerl. 8: 277-291.

Seifriz, W. 1923. The altitudinal distribution of plants on Mt. Gedeh, Java. Bull. Torrey
Botan. Club 50: 283-305, Plates 15-17.

Sharpe, R. B. 1892. Scops brooku, sp.n. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 1:iv.

Sibley, C. G. & Monroe, B. L. 1990. Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World.
Yale Univ. Press.

Yamada, I. 1990. The changing pattern of vertical stratification along an altitudinal
gradient of the forests of Mt Pangrango, West Java. Pp. 177-191 in Baas et al. (eds),
The Plant Diversity of Malesia.

Address: Dr J. H. Becking, Ericalaan 7, 6703 EM Wageningen, The Netherlands.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994

Subspeciation in Erythropygia coryphoeus
(Vieillot) of the Southwest Arid Zone of
Africa

by P. A. Clancey
Received 1 September 1993

The Karoo Scrub-Robin Erythropygia coryphoeus, which has recently
had the authorship of its scientific binomen adjusted from Sylvia
coryphaeus Lesson, 1831, to the earlier Sylvia coryphoeus of Vieillot,
1817, following the findings of Rookmaaker (1989)—see also Brooke &
Clancey (1990)—is a small sombrely coloured endemic robin of karoo
scrub and acacia thickets of the southern parts of the Southwest Arid
Zone of the Afrotropics. It is distributed from south-central Namibia
from the Naukluft National Park and the northern Cape, south to the
entire Cape south of the Orange R., extending east to the western limits
of the ‘Transkei at Cofimvaba (Quickelberge 1989), the western
lowlands of Lesotho and the drier west of the Orange Free State to
about 28° E. There is little evidence that it is other than mainly
sedentary. It is closely allied to another scrub-robin, Erythropygia
paena (Smith), with which it is sympatric from the basin of the
mid-Orange R. northwards. The two species are in the main allopatric,
but their ranges overlap widely in association with the transition of
plant community facies from karroid type to the Acacia/grass country
complex of the Kalahari ecosystem. There is no evidence that the
species hybridize in their zone of sympatry where they are often to be
encountered on the same ground. Their joint distribution pattern
suggests that coryphoeus resulted from a primal colonising event and
paena from a later one, the staggered radiation also involving the
Rufous Scrub-Robin E. galactotes of the Palaearctic and the arid parts
of the northern Afrotropics.

P. A. Clancey 225 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

Many workers now merge the genus Erythropygia Smith, 1836, spp.,
with Cercotrichas Boie, 1831, the sole species of which is Cercotrichas
podobe Boie, 1831; but Ripley (1964), Wolters (1980) and Dowsett &
Dowsett-Lemaire (1993) recognise the two genera, with Cercotrichas
monotypic and Erythropygia polytypic. It was decided to follow
likewise and view coryphoeus as a constituent species of the genus
Erythropygia, with E. paena as unquestionably congeneric, as is E.
galactotes.

As shown by Macdonald (1952), variation in the present scrub-robin,
initially believed to be sexually based, was first detected by Levaillant
(1801-04), but it was not until the publication of Macdonald’s findings
that the true nature of such variation was shown to be ecologically and
geographically rather than sexually linked. Macdonald also concluded
that at that stage it was desirable to recognise only a relatively grey race
of the desertic coastlands of the western and southwestern Cape,
induced climatically by the influence of the cold water inshore
upwelling of the Benguela Current, and a browner interior complex of
populations. He treated the first as E. c. cinerea, a new subspecies, and
the rest as comprising the nominate race, but recent study based on the
ample fresh material now available in southern African museum
collections has shown the desirability of recognising it as a form
confined to the Karoo biome, the populations occurring both to the
north and northeast of it attributable to two other subspecies. These are
E. c. abbotti in the Kalahari/Karoo ecosystem transition in the west, and
E. c. eurina Clancey, 1969: Glen, Modder R., Orange Free State, of the
eastern plateau grasslands of the South African Subregion.

Prior to the publication of Macdonald’s findings, EF. coryphoeus had
already been shown as probably polytypic by Friedmann’s naming of
E. c. abbottti from the Great Fish R., Great Namaqualand, Namibia,
in 1932, which sometime later was shown to have been proposed on
individual rather than geographic variation in the size of the white
tips to the rectrices. While treated as synonymous with the nominate
race (see Clancey 1959 and 1980), a re-examination of virtually all the
material in south-African collections (some 328 specimens in all)
shows that the xeric populations present in southern Namibia and the
lower basin of the Orange R. should be kept separate from those of
both the Karoo and the eastern grasslands of the species’ range. On
the basis of revised plumage characters and determination of a precise
range, E. c. abbotti can be justifiably resuscitated as indicated above.

Of the brownish populations of the Karoo Scrub-Robin, the darkest
are those of the Karoo biome, these being replaced to the north and
north-east by lighter birds with the breast markedly paler. Of these
differentiates, the southern Namibian and lower Orange R. birds are
distinguishable from the ones occurring in the eastern Grassy Karoo,
E. c. eurina, by the more extensively white throat, the still paler breast
and less reddish flanks, but with the tertials, secondaries and
wing-coverts markedly edged with tawny. It is significant that the
combined ranges of abbotti and eurina encompass much of the zone of
E. coryphoeus and E. paena overlap, which extends west to east from
Namibia and the northern Cape to 28° E. in the Orange Free State.

P. A. Clancey 226 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

TABLE 1
Wing-, tail- and culmen-lengths (mm) of the four subspecies of the Karoo Scrub-Robin
Erythropygia coryphoeus

n Range Mean s.d.

E. c. cinerea 3 Wing 10 68-77.5 1325) 3.40
Tail 10 62-72 67.0 3.73

Culmen 10 16-18 17.1 0.74

Q Wing 10 65-71.5 68.9 1.86

Tail 10 62.5-72 66.9 3.74

Culmen 10 15.5-17.5 16.6 0.66

E.. c. coryphoeus 3 Wing 10 68-77.5 74.3 2.85
Tail 10 63.5-75 755 3.34

Culmen 10 16-18 17.3 0.75

Q Wing 10 70-81 74.7 3.45

Tail 10 65-73.5 70.5 3.46

Culmen 10 15.5-18 16.8 0.78

E. c. abbotti 3 Wing 10 74-81 76.3 DAZ
Tail 10 70-76.5 72.9 2.31

Culmen 10 16-17.5 17.0 0.57

Q Wing 10 70-80 73.9 3.84

Tail 10 67-76 70.5 2.76

Culmen 10 16-18 17.2 0.63

E. c. eurina 3S Wing 10 73.5-78 76.1 1.66
Tail 10 68.5-76 UPA 2.08

Culmen 10 16-17.5 16.8 0.48

Q Wing 10 70-75 12RD 5S

Tail 10 68-76 70.4 2.29

Culmen 10 16-18.5 17.4 0.73

Note. E. coryphoeus exhibits little in the nature of clear-cut geographically related
size-variation, the largest birds occurring in the populations of EF. c. abbotti in Namibia
and adjacent areas in which males and females have wings to 80 mm and above. The
smallest birds crop up in the maritime populations of E. c. cinerea and E. c. coryphoeus in
the western and southern Cape. In all four races males average larger than females, but
with much overlap in both wing and tail measurements.

Four subspecies of the Karoo Scrub-Robin can be recognised, as
follows; see also ‘Table 1 and Figure 1.

Erythropygia coryphoeus cinerea Macdonald, 1952: 26km N. of Port
Nolloth, northwestern Cape.

Dorsal head and hind-neck greyer than in E. c. coryphoeus (greyish
Mummy Brown; Ridgway 1912), the mantle and scapulars still duller
and greyer. On under-parts with the fore-throat more broadly white;
entire breast and side light neutral grey, the caudad feathers narrowly
fringed white. Wings in adults with light brown edging to tertials,
secondaries and coverts. Tail browner black than in nominate E.
coryphoeus. Material examined: 74, including E. c. cinereaZE. c.
coryphoeus intergrades.

P. A. Clancey 227) Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

WALVIS

24°

LIMPOPO RIVER
t

DELAGOA
A
YZ u
py
eam
ORANGE RIVER © f Z
% c
aN
C/, b
258) DURBAN
me .)
QU
32°
32°
EAST LONDON
° ‘ °
12 CAPE TOWN RT ELIZABETH oS)

Figure 1. Sketch-map of the Southern African Subregion showing the distribution of the
Karoo Scrub-Robin and the disposition of its four subspecies: 1, Erythropygia coryphoeus
cinerea; 2, E. c. coryphoeus; 3, E. c. abotti; 4, E. c. eurina.

Range. Extends narrowly along the coast from southwestern Namibia
and the mouth of the Orange R. to the coastlands of Little
Namaqualand, Cape Province, south to the Cape of Good Hope, thence
southeast to Cape Agulhas and the Bredasdorp district. Intergrades
irregularly with nominate coryphoeus to the east of the given range.
Habitat: dry scrub of desertic coast on whitish sands; rainfall
<120 mm.

Remarks. Racial intergrades were examined from Klipfontein,
Springbok, Kamieskroon, Kliprand, Vanrhynsdorp, near Bredasdorp
and elsewhere. Coastal dune-scrub material of cinerea tends to be often
badly bleached and eroded through direct contact with wind-borne salt
spray. Wings may be bleached white.

Erythropygia coryphoeus coryphoeus (Vieillot), 1817: Uitenhage district,
southeastern Cape.

In fresh dress (April—July) with pileum and hind-neck dark greyish
Olive-Brown; mantle and scapulars near Saccardo’s Umber with grey
patina; malar-streaks and sides of lower throat darkish medium grey,
this diffused caudad over most of the breast; flanks buffy and ventral
streak to under tail-coverts pale buff. White fore-throat laterally
constricted. Tail black and wings dark brown, with light brown edging
to flight-feathers and coverts. Material examined: 145.

P. A. Clancey 228 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

Range. Cape immediately east of E. c. cinerea from Little
Namaqualand and the Succulent Karoo, south to the southern Cape,
extending eastwards through the Karoo biome to West Griqualand in
the north-east and adjacent southwestern Orange Free State (at
Luckhoff and near Smithfield), Colesberg in the north-eastern Cape,
and south reaching the Sundays R. drainage and about Uitenhage in
the southeast. Habitat: Karoo; Rainfall 120-500 mm.

Remarks. ‘The occurrence of the present subspecies in the
southwestern parts of the Orange Free State and adjacent northeastern
Cape on the Orange R. may be a result of localized eastwards spread of
the Karoo biome stemming from poor farming practices in that part of
South Africa in recent times. A variable subspecies, and like cinerea
much affected by solar bleaching and plant erosion, but not whitening
as in the case of the aforesaid race. ‘The strong wash of grey to the lower
sides of the neck and upper breast and very dark upperside in fresh
condition readily distinguish it from the adjacent E. c. eurina.

While generally conceded as sedentary, some individuals of the
present race may extend north of the breeding grounds in winter, as
suggested by a characteristic adult of the present race taken at
Maltahohe, Namibia, on 2 June 1971 (South African Museum
collection), but alterations made to the label indicate the possibility of
an error in its data.

Erythropygia coryphoeus abbotti Friedmann, 1932: 16.1 km from
Berseba, Great Namaqualand, Namibia.

Lighter and bufher brown than E. c. eurina (see below), the pileum
and hind-neck lighter, and back, rump and wings more ochraceous-
brown. Below, with a broader white fore-throat streak, and sides of
neck and entire breast virtually plain buffish, without the grey present
in eurina, and mid-venter, crissum and under tail-coverts buffish rather
than white. In wings, tertials, secondaries and coverts often edged
‘Tawny-Olive. Material examined: 44. Namibia: Oranjemund, Ai-Ais,
Seeheim, Keetmanshoop, Maltahéhe, Helmeringhausen, Berseba,
Bethanien, Assab, Groot Nabbas; Cape: Holgat R., Kuboes, ‘‘Hell’s
Kloof’ (Richtersveld), Blomhoek (Bushmanland), Pofadder, W. of
Upington, Buchuberg, Kenhardt, Kuruman, Vryburg.

Range. Central and southern Great Namaqualand from the Naukluft
National Park to the lower Orange, and north-western Cape in the
Richtersveld and Bushmanland, east north of the river as far as
Kuruman and Vryburg. Intergrades to the south of its range with E. c.
coryphoeus and E. c. cinerea. Habitat: Semidesert/dry Kalahari savanna.
Rainfall 0-250 mm.

Remarks. The characters given for this taxon by its describer were
simply those of individual variation in a limited sample.

Erythropygia coryphoeus eurina Clancey, 1969: Glen Lyon Farm, Glen,
Orange Free State.

Compared with E. c. abbotti, the pileum and hind-neck are much
darker (about Sepia), the rest of dorsum and wings less markedly
ochraceous, but not as dark and earthen brown as in nominate
coryphoeus. On underside, with a narrow white fore-throat streak, much

|

.

P. A. Clancey 229 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

as in coryphoeus from which it differs in having the breast, sides and
flanks light vinaceous-cinnamon without a greyish patina, the ventral
grey light and restricted to the malar streaks. Mid-ventral surface to the
under tail-coverts white. Material examined: 65.

Range. Northeast and east of nominate coryphoeus of the Karoo
biome, extending from the headwaters and immediate east of the Great
Fish R. in the east of the Cape to the Orange Free State, except for the
southwestern corner, to 28°E, the lowlands of northern and western
Lesotho and to western Transkei (at Cofimvaba). Habitat: mainly
grassveld/karoo transition (=Grassy Karoo); rainfall >250—1000 mm.

Acknowledgements

For the loan of material to augment that already available in the collection of the Durban
Natural Science Museum I am grateful to the responsible officials of the South African
Museum, Cape Town; the East London Museum; the National Museum, Bloemfontein;
the Transvaal Museum, Pretoria; and the State Museum of Namibia, Windhoek. To all
concerned I express my thanks.

References:

Clancey, P. A. 1959. Races of the Karoo Robin Erythropygia coryphaeus (Lesson). Ostrich
30: 42-44.

Clancey, P. A. 1969. An adjustment to the names of Erythropygia coryphaeus forms.
Durban Mus. Novit. 8: 240-241.

Clancey, P. A. (ed.) 1980. S.A.O.S. Checklist of Southern African Birds. Southern
African Ornithological Society, Johannesburg.

Clancey, P. A. & Brooke, R. K. 1990. Avian nomenclatural issues arising from the
publication of Rookmaaker’s The Zoological Exploration of Southern Africa
1650-1790. Ostrich 61: 143-145.

Dowsett, R. J. & Dowsett-Lemaire, F. 1993. Comments on the taxonomy of some
Afrotropical bird species. Tauraco Research Report 5: 355.

Friedmann, H. 1932. Erythropygia coryphaeus abbotti, subsp. nov. Proc. Biol. Soc.
Washington 45: 65.

Macdonald, J. D. 1952. Variation in the Karroo Robin Erythropygia coryphaeus. Bull.
Brit. Orn. Cl. 72: 90-92.

Quickelberge, C. D. 1989. Birds of the Transkei. Department of Agriculture and
Forestry, Umtata, Transkei.

Ridgway, R. 1912. Color Standards and Color Nomenclature. The Author, Washington,
IDC

Ripley, S. D. 1964. Family Turdidae, in Peters’ Check-List of Birds of the World 10:
18-27. Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard.

Rookmaaker, L. C. 1989. The Zoological Exploration of Southern Africa 1650-1790. A. A.
Balkema, Rotterdam.

Wolters, H. E. 1980. Die Vogelarten der Erde, Lief. 6: 427. Paul Parey, Hamburg &
Berlin.

Address: Dr P. A. Clancey, Research Associate, Durban Natural Science Museum,
P.O. Box 4085, Durban 4000, South Africa.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994

C. A. Marantz & F. V. Remsen, fr. 230 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

First records of Tangara cyanicollis
melanogaster from Bolivia

by Curtis A. Marantz & F. V. Remsen, fr.

Received 24 August 1993

Our examination of specimens of the Blue-necked Tanager Tangara
cyanicollis collected recently from the Serrania de Huanchaca region in
northeastern Dpto. Santa Cruz, Bolivia (Bates et al. 1992), indicates
that they are referable to T. c. melanogaster, previously known only
from northern Mato Grosso and southern Para, Brazil (Isler & Isler
1987). Nine specimens were collected at five localities, all Prov.
Velasco, Dpto. Santa Cruz: Serrania de Huanchaca, 21 km SE Catarata
Arco Iris, 670 m (2); Serrania de Huanchaca, 46 km E Florida, 725 m
(1); 13km SW Piso Firme, 230m (3); 10km SSW Piso Firme,
230 m (1); and Parque Nacional Noel Kempff Mercado, 86 km ESE
Florida (2).

‘These Bolivian specimens show the combination of points noted by
Cherrie & Reichenberger (1923) to be diagnostic of T. c. melanogaster.
Like specimens examined of T. c. melanogaster collected near the type
locality in Mato Grosso (‘Tapirapoan, AMNH 127201 and 128219;
Doze Octobre, AMNH 128224), the Bolivian individuals have entirely
black underparts (although LSUMZ 15189, a female, shows a slight
purplish-blue cast on a few flank feathers), a ‘“‘strong indigo blue tinge
on the middle of the throat’, and a decidedly golden wing-covert panel.
The birds additionally have a variable amount of blue on the rump and
a purplish cast to the forehead, both characters that Cherrie &
Reichenberger (1923) suggested can be used to distinguish T. c.
melanogaster from T. c. hannahiae of northern Colombia and
Venezuela.

Specimens (LSUMZ 67791-67793) collected in the vicinity of Serra
do Cachimbo, Para, Brazil, over 500 km northeast of either the Mato
Grosso or the Bolivian localities, differ slightly from the other
specimens that we examined of T. c. melanogaster in having a clearer
blue throat and forehead, with a reduction in the purple tinge. Because
two of these specimens are females with prominent black centres to the
crown feathers, potentially indicating immaturity, the significance, if
any, of these differences cannot be assessed without additional material.

The Bolivian specimens of T. c. melanogaster represent a westward
range extension of about 90km from the nearest locality in Mato
Grosso, and were collected approximately 275 km from the type
locality of T. c. melanogaster at Utiarity, Mato Grosso. The range
of lowland T. c. melanogaster is still separated from populations of
T. cyanicollis in the Bolivian Andes by 450 km. The intervening region
remains poorly sampled, except for the region around Concepcion,
Prov. Nuflo de Chavez, Dpto. Santa Cruz, where Davis (1993) did not
find this or any other species of Tangara; more tropical areas to the
north where Tangara would be more likely have yet to be sampled.

C. A. Marantz & 7. V. Remsen, fr. 231 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

Tangara cyanicollis has a unique geographic distribution. Although
at first glance it might be categorized as Circum-Amazonian (Remsen
et al. 1991), its lowland distribution is north of that of Circum-
Amazonian species and does not include southeastern Brazil, and its
montane distribution is really more in the tropical zone foothills of the
Andes than in true montane cloud-forest. Elevations for specimens
taken near the Andes in Peru and Bolivia are mainly 300-1300 m
(LSUMZ specimens), generally below those of humid montane
cloud-forest.

Tangara cyanicollis melanogaster joins a growing list of bird taxa
formerly endemic to southwestern Brazil that have now been found in
extreme northeastern Bolivia (Bates et al. 1989, 1992; Kratter et al.
1992).

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Mary LeCroy (American Museum of Natural History) for assistance in
the loan of specimens of T. c. melanogaster. The 1989 LSU field-work in Bolivia was
funded by a National Geographic Society grant to J. V. Remsen; additional support came
from Mrs Paquita Machris through Elizabeth A. Schreiber. The 1990 expedition was
funded by the generous donations of John S. Mclllhenny. LSU field-work in the
Serrania de Huanchaca was aided by the staff of the Parque Nacional Noel Kempff
Mercado, under the direction of Ing. Nestor Ruiz. Permission to work in Bolivia was
granted by the Centro de Desarrollo Forestal, under the direction of Lic. Arturo
Moscoso. Specimens of T. c. melanogaster were collected by Abel Castillo, Carmelo Pena,
Curtis A. Marantz, John P. O’ Neill, G. H. Rosenberg, and T. Scott Sillett.

References:

Bates, J. M., Garvin, M. C., Schmitt, D. C. & Schmitt, C. G. 1989. Notes on bird
distribution in northeastern Dpto. Santa Cruz, Bolivia, with 15 species new to
Bolivia. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 109: 236-244.

Bates, J. M., Parker, T. A., III, Capparella, A. P. & Davis, T. J. 1992. Observations on
the campo, cerrado and forest avifaunas of eastern Dpto. Santa Cruz, Bolivia,
including 21 species new to the country. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 112: 86-98.

Cherrie, G. K. & Reichenberger, E. M. B. 1923. Description of proposed new birds from
Brazil and Paraguay. Am. Mus. Novit. 58.

Davis, S. E. 1993. Seasonal status, relative abundance, and behavior of the birds of
Concepcion, Departamento Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Fieldiana (Zool.) No. 71.

Kratter, A. W., Chesser; R. T., Carreno, M. D., O'Neill, J. P. & Sillett, T..S. 1992.
Further notes on bird distribution in northeastern Dpto. Santa Cruz, Bolivia, with
two species new to Bolivia. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 112: 143-149.

Isler, M. L. & Isler, P. R. 1987. The Tanagers: Natural History, Distribution, and
Identification. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.

Remsen, J. V., Jr., Rocha O., O., Schmitt, C. G. & Schmitt, D. C. 1991. Zoogeography
and geographic variation of Platyrinchus mystaceus in Bolivia and Peru, and the
Circum-Amazonian distribution pattern. Ornitologia Neotropical 2: 77-83.

Address: Curtis A. Marantz & J. V. Remsen, Jr., Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana
State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803, U.S.A.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994

S.N. G. Howell & S. Webb 232 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

Additional information on the birds of
Guerrero, Mexico

by Steve N. G. Howell S Sophie Webb

Received 24 August 1993

The avifauna of the state of Guerrero, like that of many areas in
Mexico, is relatively little-studied. Griscom (1934) discussed an
extensive collection of specimens from the state, obtained by the
veteran collector W. W. Brown between 1930 and 1932, and also gave a
summary of earlier ornithological work in Guerrero. Further
information on the state’s avifauna has been provided by Griscom
(1937), Davis (1944), Blake (1950), Dixon & Davis (1958), Navarro
(1986), Howell & Wilson (1990), Howell (1992), Navarro (1992),
Navarro et al. (1992a), Webb & Howell (1993), and Howell & Engel
(1993). Friedmann et al. (1950) and Miller et al. (1957) provided a
simple listing of species recorded from Guerrero.

We visited Guerrero to observe birds for a total of 26 days as follows:
18-19 December 1984 (SNGH and P. Pyle), 14 December 1985
(SNGH and R. G. Wilson), 2-3 June 1986 (SNGH and R. G. Wilson),
4 January 1987 (SNGH and SW), 11-18 April 1988 (SNGH and SW),
22-24 March 1990 (SNGH and R. G. Wilson), 20-25 May 1990
(SNGH and SW), 7—9 October 1993 (SNGH).

We here summarize observations of 44 species that supplement the
information available on the avifauna of Guerrero, including 20 species
previously unreported from the state. We also provide supporting
evidence for one species whose occurrence in Guerrero has been
questioned, and question the occurrence of two species traditionally
attributed to the state’s avifauna. Our observations refer largely to the
humid, coastal-facing slopes of the Sierra Madre del Sur (or Sierra de
Atoyac), although we report some records from the coastal lowlands
and interior of Guerrero.

Most of the information on Guerrero has been based on collections
centred on the capital Chilpancingo, on the famous locality of
Omiltemi high in the Sierra Madre del Sur, and in the vicinity of
Acapulco on the coast. The coastal-facing slopes of the Sierra Madre
del Sur have remained largely unstudied, although visited briefly by
collectors, e.g. Chester C. Lamb who, in 1947, discovered the
distinctive and still little-known Short-crested Coquette Lophornis
brachylopha (Moore 1949, Howell 1992). Navarro (1986, 1992)
analysed the altitudinal distribution and ecological characteristics of
bird species on the coastal slope of the Sierra Madre del Sur in
Guerrero, based on 90 days of field work between March 1983 and
May 1985. While he made a significant contribution, many species
not detected simply by mist-netting were overlooked. For example, in
a total of 11 days in April 1988 and March and May 1992 we visited
areas corresponding to three of Navarro’s (1986, 1992) eleven study
sites and recorded 48 species not found by him. Navarro (1986, 1992)

S.N. G. Howell & S. Webb 233 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

Mexico City
N

——

a

/
ei
“ GUERRERO

Pacific Ocean

102 W

Figure 1. The state of Guerrero, Mexico, showing places mentioned in the species
accounts. 1, Petacalco; 2, Zihuatanejo; 3, Barra de Potosi; 4, Petatlan; 5, Atoyac; 6, Rio
Santiago; 7, San Vicente de Benitez; 8, Paraiso; 9, Arroyo Grande; 10, Nueva Delhi; 11,
Filo de Caballo; 12, Omiltemi; 13, Laguna de Tuxpan 14, Mexcala; 15, Zumpango del
Rio; 16, Chilpancingo; 17, Acahuizotla; 18, Agua de Obispo; 19, Laguna Mitla; 20,
Acapulco; 21, Laguna Chautengo; 22, Marquelia; 23, Juchitan.

listed 162 species and thus overlooked at least 23% of the potential
avifauna.

Certainly, much remains to be learned about the avifauna of
Guerrero, one of the most ornithologically diverse states in Mexico.
The following accounts convey new distributional information and for
some species provide an idea of relative abundance, since essentially no
data are available on this subject for the state of Guerrero. Elevations of
occurrence for presumed breeding species in the Sierra Madre del Sur
are given to the nearest 50 m. The notation NG indicates species for
which we have found no previously documented record for the state.
Figure 1 shows localities mentioned in the species accounts.

THICKET TINAMOU Crypturellus cinnamomeus

Friedmann et al. (1950) described this tinamou as a fairly common
resident in western Mexico, from Sinaloa to Guerrero. Navarro (1992),
however, described this species as “‘rare’’ (“‘seen only once or twice in
the entire study’). We heard up to 8 Thicket Tinamous per day
between San Vicente de Benitez and Paraiso (900-1000 m) in Apr 1988,
and up to 10 per day in Mar and May 1990, supporting the evaluation
of Friedmann et al. (1950).

S.N. G. Howell & S. Webb 234 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

EARED GREBE Podiceps nigricollis

We have two records of this species from Guerrero: 6 birds along the
Guerrero side of the Rio Balsas near its mouth, where it forms the state
border with Michoacan, 18 Jan 1984, and one bird in alternate plumage
at Laguna de 'Tuxpan, 2 Jun 1986. NG.

WESTERN/CLARK’S GREBE Aechmophorus occidentalis/clarki

‘The southernmost breeding site for both of these grebes is Laguna de
Tuxpan. No data appear to be available on the population size or
proportion of the two forms there beyond two ‘“‘dark phase’’ (i.e.,
Western) and four “light phase’’ (i.e., Clark’s) specimens reported
by Dickerman (1973). On 2 Jun 1986 Howell counted 360-400
Aechmophorus grebes on Laguna de 'Tuxpan; the 50 closest birds were
28 Western and 22 Clark’s. On 20 May 1990 we counted 165+
Aechmophorus grebes at the lake, of which all but one Western were too
distant for specific identification.

KING VULTURE Sarcoramphus papa

On 23 May 1990 we saw an adult King Vulture soaring over the road
3 km north of San Vicente de Benitez, and a single and two adults over
the road 2—5 km south of San Vicente (900-1000 m). The King Vulture
has been reported rarely from west Mexico, with records from Sinaloa
and Nayarit (Freidmann et al. 1950) and from Colima (Schaldach
1963); surprisingly there appear to be no records from the Pacific slope
of Oaxaca west of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (Binford 1989). NG.

WHITE-TAILED KITE Elanus leucurus
The only record we have from Guerrero of this conspicuous raptor is

one seen on 18 Jan 1984 along the coastal highway between the
Michoacan border and Acapulco. NG.

SNAIL KITE Rostrhamus sociabilis

The early morning of 18 Apr 1988 we watched an adult male and
three female or immature Snail Kites feeding at the ponds south of
Highway 200, a few km east of Juchitan. At 08.40 all four kites circled
up from the ponds and drifted overhead off to the east. This is the only
Pacific slope record of Snail Kites we are aware of west of the Isthmus
of Tehuantepec in Oaxaca where the species is described as a “rare
spring and summer visitant”’ (Binford 1989). NG.

DOUBLE-TOOTHED KITE Harpagus bidentatus

Dixon & Davis (1958) reported two specimens of this species from
the Sierra Madre del Sur of Guerrero, in Jul 1941 and Jun 1954,
although AOU (1983) overlooked these records. We observed an adult
Double-toothed Kite perched in a tree by the road 1 km north of Rio
Santiago (1000 m), 23 May 1990. This species appears to be an
uncommon and local resident in western Mexico, and also has been
found recently in Jalisco and Colima (Howell, pers. obs.).

S.N. G. Howell & S. Webb 235 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(A4)

SHORT-TAILED HAWK Buteo brachyurus

Although Friedmann et al. (1950) listed no records from Guerrero,
and Peterson & Chalif (1973) described Short-tailed Hawk as “rare,
local’ in Mexico, this species, with which we are very familiar, is one of
the commonest hawks on both slopes of Mexico (pers. obs.). Our
records from Guerrero whence, remarkably, there appear to be no
previous published records, include 37 dark and 22 light morphs at
numerous sites in the coastal lowlands and coastal-facing slopes of the
Sierra Madre del Sur, from sea level to 1600 m elevation (localities 1, 2,
4,5, 7, 8, 9, 20, 22, and 23 on Fig. 1). We have records in Jan, Mar,
Apr, May and Oct. NG.

BLACK HAWKE-EAGLE Spizaetus tyrannus

Howell saw two birds, calling and soaring, 2.5km north of San
Vicente, on 7 Oct 1993. One bird flew as low as 100m over the road
and all features, including the bushy, white-based crest and
black-and-white feathered tarsi could be seen clearly. Webb & Howell
(1993) reported the only prior record of this unmistakable species from
Guerrero where it appears to be an uncommon resident in the Sierra

Madre del Sur.

BARRED FOREST-FALCON Micrastur ruficollis

Phillips (1966) reported the first occurrence of this species from
western Mexico: two females collected in the Sierra Madre del Sur of
Oaxaca in 1963 and 1964. AOU (1983) described this species’ range as
“Resident from Guerrero, ... south’’, although we can find no
published record to support this statement, and Binford (1989)
considered Oaxaca to be the northwestern limit of the Barred
Forest-Falcon’s Pacific slope range, adding “‘occurrence in Guerrero
(A.O.U. 1983: 124) needs substantiation’.

Howell heard a Barred Forest-Falcon calling 10 km by road SW of
Filo de Caballo (2500 m), at dusk on 14 Dec 1985. In 1988 we heard
and tape-recorded a Barred Forest-Falcon calling beside the road
between Paraiso and Arroyo Grande (1100 m), on 13-14 Apr, and in
1990 we heard one calling near the road between Paraiso and San
Vicente de Benitez (950 m) on 23 May.

BAT FALCON Falco rufigularis

Howell saw a Bat Falcon perched on a dead snag 2 km by road north
of Paraiso, 22 Mar 1990, and saw a pair near Nueva Delhi, 23 Mar 1990
and 7 Oct 1993. We saw 2-3 Bat Falcons, including a pair, between
Paraiso and Nueva Delhi on 21 May 1990 (850-1400 m). E. G. Strauss
(pers. comm.) saw a Bat Falcon 3 km by road south of Paraiso on 17
May 1993. This distinctive small falcon is an uncommon resident on
Mexico’s Pacific slope, and has been recorded north to southern
Sonora. NG.

SINGING QUAIL Dactylortyx thoracicus
We heard the distinctive, far-carrying ‘song’ of this species at Arroyo
Grande (1350 m) on 14 Apr 1988, below Nueva Delhi (1500 m) on

S. N. G. Howell & S. Webb 236 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

16 Apr 1988, and, tape-recorded, near San Vicente de Benitez (950 m)
on 23 May 1990. The last birds, at least two individuals, were in mixed
coffee finca and semideciduous tropical forest, the other birds at the
coffee finca-cloud forest ecotone. Navarro (1992) recorded this species
only at and above 2500 m in pine-oak-cloud forest, and Warner &
Harrell (1957) reported that “In Guerrero, the Singing Quail is found
mostly above 6,600 feet” (2000 m). This species’ altitudinal and habitat
range in Guerrero is wider than previously recognized.

AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER Pluvialis dominica
Howell saw three basic-plumaged birds at the eastern end of Laguna
Mitla, 22 Mar 1990, and two individuals there on 24 Mar 1990. NG.

SNOWY PLOVER Charadrius alexandrinus

R. G. Wilson (pers. comm.) saw one Snowy Plover at Barra Vieja,
30 km E of Acapulco, on 30 Aug 1986, and 6 birds on the beach at the
E end of Laguna Mitla, 10 Jul 1988. We saw an alternate-plumaged
Snowy Plover at Laguna Chautengo on 17 Apr 1988. The only other
Mexican Pacific coast records we are aware of for Snowy Plover south
of Nayarit are those of Binford (1989) for Oaxaca, and Hunn (1973) for
Chiapas. NG.

WILSON’S PLOVER Charadrius wilsonia

R. G. Wilson (pers. comm.) saw single Wilson’s Plovers at Barra
Vieja on 30 Aug 1986, and at the east end of Laguna Mitla, 9 Aug 1991.
We saw 5 Wilson’s Plovers at Laguna Chautengo, 17 Apr 1988, and an
alternate-plumaged male at the eastern end of Laguna Mitla, 22 Mar
1990 and 20 May 1990. These records probably represent migrants
from northwestern Mexico although the species may breed locally on
the coast of Guerrero. NG.

BLACK-NECKED STILT Himantopus mexicanus

‘That this species appears not to have been recorded previously from
Guerrero (although listed for 20 other states by Friedmann et al. 1950)
reflects how little historical attention has been paid to water birds in the
state. Howell’s notes mention it as ““common”’ in Guerrero in Jan 1984
and Jan 1987, and present on 12 Apr 1988 between Petatlan and
Atoyac. We saw 15 at Laguna Chautengo, 17 Apr 1988, and 15 near
Marquelia, 18 Apr 1988. At the eastern end of Laguna Mitla we saw 50
stilts on 22 Mar 1990, 30 on 24 Mar 1990, and 6 pairs, including 2 birds
on nests and a pair with two small chicks, on 20 May 1990. We also saw
100-200 stilts at Barra de Potosi, 24 May 1990. The species thus
appears to be a common winter migrant and local, breeding summer
resident. NG.

AMERICAN AVOCET Recurvirostra americana

The introductory comment for Black-necked Stilt applies equally
well to this and the five following species. Our records of Avocet from
Guerrero are: 2 in basic plumage at Laguna Chautengo, 17 Apr 1988,
and 30—40 in alternate plumage at Barra de Potosi, 24 May 1990. NG.

S.N. G. Howell & S. Webb 237 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

PECTORAL SANDPIPER Calidris melanotus
Howell saw one at the east end of Laguna Mitla, 22 and 24 Mar 1990.
NG.

STILT SANDPIPER Calidris himantopus

We noted a single Stilt Sandpiper at a roadside pond near Petatlan,
4 Jan 1987, and saw 2 at Laguna Chautengo, 17 Apr 1988. NG.

CASPIAN TERN Sterna caspia

Howell noted this species as “fairly common” on 18 Jan 1984 at the
Guerrero side of the Rio Balsas near its mouth. We saw 8 at Laguna
Chautengo, 17 Apr 1988, a first-year bird at the ponds south of
Highway 200, a few km east of Juchitan, 18 Apr 1988, and a first-year
at Barra de Potosi, 24 May 1990, At the east end of Laguna Mitla we
noted a large aggregation of migrant Caspian Terns in spring 1990: 320
on 22 Mar, and 400 on 24 May; 90% of these birds were adults in
alternate plumage, and we saw none at this site on 20 May 1990. NG.

ELEGANT TERN Sterna elegans

Howell noted 6 Elegant Terns on 18 Jan 1984 at the Guerrero side of
the Rio Balsas near its mouth, 4 alternate-plumaged adults at the east
end of Laguna Mitla, 24 Mar 1990, and one adult and 2 first-years
there on 24 May 1990. NG

BLACK TERN Childonias niger

Noted without comment from Guerrero by Friedmann et al. (1950).
Howell and P. Pyle observed 300+ Black ‘Terns along the coast
between the Michoacan border and Acapulco, 18 Jan 1984. They also
saw numerous Black ‘Terns at several other sites along and off the coast
from Jalisco to Oaxaca in the winter of 1983/84, indicating that this
species winters, at least in some years, as far north as western Mexico.
Black Terns also are common spring visitors off Guerrero (Howell &

Engel 1993).

BARRED PARAKEET Bolborhynchus lineola

Friedmann et al. (1950) and AOU (1983) listed this species from
Guerrero, based apparently on a specimen at the Museo Nacional de
Historia Natural in Mexico City. We know of no other reports of
Barred Parakeet from Guerrero and consider the specimen data to be of
doubtful veracity.

ORANGE-CHINNED PARAKEET Brotogeris jugularis

Friedmann et al. (1950) and AOU (1983) listed this species from
Guerrero, although we know of no basis for these statements. Since this
small parakeet generally is a conspicuous species, and since there are no
records from Oaxaca west of the Rio Ostuta, in the Isthmus of
‘Tehuantepec (Binford 1989), we consider the occurrence of Orange-
chinned Parakeet in Guerrero to be doubtful.

S.N. G. Howell & S. Webb 238 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

PHEASANT CUCKOO Dromococcyx phasianellus

We heard and tape-recorded a singing Pheasant Cuckoo between
Paraiso and San Vicente de Benitez (950 m), 17 Apr 1988. On 24 Mar
1990 Howell heard and taped 2—3 Pheasant Cuckoos in this same area.
The Pheasant Cuckoo is resident at similar elevations in the Sierra
Madre del Sur of Oaxaca where it has been recorded west to Putla,
within 15 km of Guerrero (Binford 1989). NG.

EARED POORWILL Nyctiphrynus mcleodit

Five specimens of this little-known nightjar have been reported from
Guerrero: two from the “‘vicinity of Chilpancingo” (Miller 1948) and
three from two sites south and west of Chilpancingo (Arnold 1971). On
14 Dec 1985, Howell and R. G. Wilson heard at least 4 Eared Poorwills
calling shortly after dusk, 6-10 km SW of Filo de Caballo (2500 m).

BLACK SWIFT Cypseloides niger

On 12 Apr 1988 we saw a lone Black Swift, apparently a migrant,
flying strongly northwest, 20 km east of Petatlan. We observed up to
60-70 Black Swifts circling over the vicinity of Paraiso, 21-23 May
1990 (800-900 m); we watched and heard these birds for 15-25 minutes
on each occasion, often at ranges down to 100m, and in direct
comparison with White-collared Streptoprocne zonaris and Vaux’s
Chaetura vauxi swifts. While the field identification of swifts is
problematic, we have considerable experience with this species in
North and Central America and are familiar with its vocalizations.
Further, the observed dimorphism in tail shape (cleft in male Black
Swifts, squared in females) and direct comparison with other species,
support the identification (see Howell & Webb 1994). Navarro et al.
(1992b) considered that Guerrero lay in “an apparent distribution gap”’
for Black Swift but we suspect that this species is a summer resident in
the Sierra Madre del Sur, as it is in most mountainous areas of central
and western Mexico (pers. obs.). NG.

CHESTNUT-COLLARED SWIFT Cypselozdes rutilus

Howell saw 100+ Chestnut-collared Swifts between Acapulco and
Agua de Obispo, 19 Jan 1984, and saw and heard six birds 10 km SW of
Filo de Caballo, 3 Jun 1986. We saw 17 flying northwest, 20-km east of
Petatlan, on 12 Apr 1988, 5 over San Vicente de Benitez, 24 Mar 1990,
and 30 birds, including several apparent pairs chasing and calling,
15-20 km by road north of Nueva Delhi, on 22 May 1990. Sea level to
2500 m. NG.

WHITE-COLLARED SWIFT Streptoprocne zonaris

This swift has long been known to occur in Guerrero but nothing
appears to be written on its abundance. White-collared Swifts are fairly
common over the humid coastal-facing slopes of the Sierra Madre del
Sur, and at times range down to near sea level (R. G. Wilson pers.
comm.). Specific records are: between Atoyac and Paraiso (850-
1100 m), up to 30 per day, 12-17 Apr 1988, 150+ on 22 Mar 1990, 30+
on 24 Mar 1990, up to 45 per day, 21-23 May 1990.

S. N. G. Howell & S. Webb 239 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

WHITE-NAPED SWIFT Streptoprocne semicollaris

In southwest Mexico this swift is characteristic of arid interior
regions (pers. obs.), although small numbers range to the coastal slopes
of the Sierra Madre del Sur where they may occur in the same flocks
with White-collared Swifts. We saw 4-5 White-naped Swifts over
Arroyo Grande (1350 m), 13 Apr 1988, 5-6 there on 15 Apr 1988, 4
between Paraiso and San Vicente de Benitez (1000 m), 24 Mar 1990,
and one near San Vicente, 8 Oct 1993.

GREAT SWALLOW-TAILED SWIFT Panyptila sanctihieronymi

This spectacular swift was first found in Mexico as recently as 1944,
in Chiapas (Alvarez del Toro 1952), with subsequent reports from
Michoacan (Selander 1955), Guerrero (Arnold & Maxwell 1970), and
Oaxaca (Binford 1989). Howell (ms.) summarized records from
northwest Mexico. Specific records remain few and hence we report
2 birds seen low over the town of Zumpango del Rio, the morning of
22 Mar 1990.

VIOLET SABREWING Campylopterus hemileucurus

Binford (1989) questioned reports of a disjunct population of this
hummingbird in Guerrero. Navarro (1986, 1992) reaffirmed the
occurrence of Violet Sabrewings in Guerrero: he collected several
specimens and considered the species a common resident in cloud
forest at 1200-1800 m elevation. We noted up to five Violet Sabrewings
per day in Apr 1988 and May 1990, but saw none in Mar 1990. Most
were above 1200 m in cloud forest and adjacent disturbed habitat, but
we also noted one male at 950m in semideciduous forest near San
Vicente de Benitez on 23 May 1990.

BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRD Cynanthus latirostris

Two distinct forms of Broad-billed Hummingbird, the males of
which can be separated in the field, occur in Guerrero: typical
Broad-billed Hummingbirds (larger, males with green crowns, blue
throats and green chests, and white undertail coverts) and Doubleday’s
Hummingbirds (smaller, males with blue crowns, blue throats and
chests, and dark undertail coverts). The two forms sometimes are
considered as separate species (AOU 1983). Typical Broad-billeds
have been reported only from interior northern Guerrero, while
Doubleday’s occurs in the Pacific coastal lowlands from Guerrero to
western Oaxaca (Friedmann et al. 1950, Binford 1989). On 11 Apr 1988
we found a male (and apparently 3 female) typical Broad-billed in
coastal west Guerrero along Highway 200, 10 km east of Petacalco. We
found two male (and apparently two female) Doubleday’s 45 km farther
east along Highway 200, 1.e., about 15km west of Zihuatanejo.
Unfortunately, a military exercise being conducted between these
points prevented field work to determine if the two forms were
sympatric. Future studies should concentrate on this area.

VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD Amazilia violiceps
Like typical Broad-billed Hummingbirds, this species has been
reported in Guerrero only from the northern interior (Friedmann et al.

S.N. G. Howell & S. Webb 240 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

1950). On 24 May 1990 we observed a single Violet-crowned
Hummingbird feeding at flowers in a hotel garden in Zihuatanejo. We
saw none in coastal west Guerrero on 11. Apr 1988, and only the one
bird noted above 23-24 May 1990. Thus the species may be only a rare
visitor to coastal Guerrero.

CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD Archilochus [=Stellula] calliope

We saw 2-3 female Calliope Hummingbirds daily at Arroyo Grande,
13-15 Apr 1988. These birds were identified by their very small size (in
comparison with species such as Bumblebee Hummingbird Selasphorus
[= Atthis| heloisa), faint dusky flecking on their throats, a pale vinaceous
wash on their flanks, slight rufous at the bases of the outer rectrices,
and, importantly, wingtips projecting beyond the short tail at rest.
These features are diagnostic of the female Calliope Hummingbird
(Howell & Webb 1994). There appear to be only two previous records
from Guerrero, a female taken in August, and a male in October

(Griscom 1934).

BARRED WOODCREEPER Dendrocolaptes certhia

This species appears to be an uncommon resident of forests at
900-1500 m elevation on the Pacific slope of the Sierra Madre del Sur
in Guerrero; we saw and tape-recorded at least one at Arroyo Grande,
15 Apr 1988, saw and heard one 5 km by road north of Nueva Delhi,
23 Mar 1990, and heard one near San Vicente de Benitez, 23 May 1990.
‘The Barred Woodcreepers in Guerrero look quite distinct from those
in eastern Mexico, although sounding similar: the bill is mostly
flesh-coloured, and the throat and chest have more contrasting pale
scalloping, characters of the subspecies sheffler1, considered endemic to

the Sierra Madre del Sur of Oaxaca (Binford 1965, 1989). NG.

STREAK-HEADED WOODCREEPER Lepidocolaptes souleyeti

Muller et al. (1957) reported this species as known from Guerrero by
only three specimens, and Navarro (1992) considered it “‘rare’’ (see
under Thicket Tinamou) and found it only at one site, in the cloud
forest-semideciduous forest ecotone at 1200 m. We noted one at Arroyo
Grande, 13 Apr 1988, one between Paraiso and Nueva Delhi, 22 Mar
1990, 4 between Paraiso and San Vicente de Benitez, 24 Mar 1990, and
1—2 near San Vicente, 21 May 1990. The species appears to be fairly
common in Guerrero (900-1350 m) where, as in adjacent Oaxaca
(Binford 1989), it is typical of semideciduous forest.

EYE-RINGED FLATBILL Rhynchocyclus brevirostris

This species was first reported from Guerrero by Navarro (1986,
1992) who considered it ‘“‘rare’’. We saw two single birds at Arroyo
Grande, 14 Apr 1988, and one bird, plus a nest at a different site,
between Paraiso and Nueva Delhi, on 22 May 1990, suggesting that
this easily overlooked flycatcher may be fairly common in Guerrero
(1200-1500 m).

WHITE-THROATED JAY Cyanolyca mirabilis
This striking jay often is considered rare, e.g. by Peterson & Chalif
(1973), and by Navarro (1992) who reported it from four sites

S.N. G. Howell &S S..Webb 241 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

(seemingly contradicting his definition of rare as “‘seen only once or
twice in the entire study’’) between 1800 and 2500 m. At a site 10 km
by road SW of Filo de Caballo (2500 m), Howell and R. G. Wilson
failed to find White-throated Jays during a full day, 14 Dec 1985; on 3
Jun 1986, however, they easily found 4-6 White-throated Jays,
travelling with mixed-species flocks that included 5-6 Emerald
Toucanets Aulacorhynchus prasinus and 10-15 Unicolored Jays
Aphelocoma unicolor, two other species notably absent in December;
this suggests some local and seasonal movement by all three species.
We also saw 2 pairs of White-throated Jays 12-15 km by road north of
Nueva Delhi (1900-2000 m), 16 Apr 1988.

NASHVILLE WARBLER Vermuivora ruficapilla

This species winters commonly in Guerrero. However, a single
Nashville Warbler 5 km by road north of Nueva Delhi on 22 May 1990
was notably late in the season to be still in southern Mexico (e.g., the
latest date for Oaxaca is 8 May [Binford 1989] and for Mexico City,
6 May [Wilson & Ceballos-L. 1986]). The bird’s very dull plumage
combined with the date suggests it may have been a first-year female.

COLIMA WARBLER Vermivora crissalis

Howell observed a single Colima Warbler 10 km by road SW of Filo
de Caballo, 14 Dec 1985. The only other records we known of from
Guerrero are two (20 Sep and 17 Apr) listed by Miller et al. (1957).

TROPICAL PARULA Parula pitiayumi

We saw a Tropical Parula in deciduous thorn scrub at the edge of
mangroves near Petacalco, 11 Apr 1988, and heard 2-3 singing between
Paraiso and San Vicente de Benitez (950 m) on 21 May 1990. The only
other record of this species from Guerrero is that of Dixon & Davis
(1958) who collected a breeding female at Acahuizotla, on the interior
slope of the Sierra Madre del Sur, in June 1953.

RED-LEGGED HONEYCREEPER Cyanerpes cyaneus

The Red-legged Honeycreeper appears to be a breeding resident (or
summer resident?) in Guerrero (900-1400 m): we saw a male in
alternate plumage at Arroyo Grande on 15 Apr 1988, 6 birds (including
an alternate-plumaged male) between Paraiso and Nueva Delhi on
23 Mar 1990, 5-6 (including two males, one in full and one in partial
alternate plumage) near San Vicente de Benitez, 24 Mar 1990, and 6—7
between Paraiso and San Vicente, 23 May 1990. R. G. Wilson (pers.
comm.) saw a pair between San Vicente and Paraiso on 13 Jul 1988,
and one bird between Paraiso and Nueva Delhi on 9 Aug 1992. The
only other Pacific Slope record for this species west of the Isthmus of
‘Tehuantepec is 3 seen (including a male with enlarged testes collected)
by Binford (1989) in the Sierra Madre del Sur of Oaxaca, 10 May 1964.
NG.

WHITE-WINGED TANAGER Spermagra [=Piranga] leucoptera
Near Arroyo Grande in 1988 we saw a male on 13 Apr, a male and
two females on 14 Apr, and a pair (and another bird heard) on 15 Apr;

S.N.G. Howell & S. Webb 242 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

we heard at least one bird near Nueva Delhi on 16 Apr 1988, saw a pair
between Paraiso and San Vicente de Benitez on 17 Apr 1988, and heard
one bird between Paraiso and San Vicente; 23 May 1990. Howell saw a
male and heard other birds calling, 8 km by road north of Paraiso, 7 Oct
1993. R. G. Wilson (pers. comm.) saw up to 4 White-winged Tanagers
between San Vicente and Paraiso, 30 Apr—1 May 1989, and between
Paraiso and Nueva Delhi he saw a pair on 23 Mar 1990 and one bird on
8 Aug 1992. This species, with which we are familiar from many areas
in Mexico and Central America, is distinctive by virtue of its plumage
and structure, e.g., smaller than Flame-coloured Tanager Piranga
bidentata with a proportionately smaller bill; the overall bright red
plumage of the male, in combination with black lores and black wings
with two narrow white wingbars, is unmistakable. Vocalizations
(tape-recorded) agree with the calls of this species from other parts of
its range in Mexico. We know of no other Pacific slope records of this
species west of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, but it appears to be fairly
common in Guerrero in forest at 900-1500 m elevation. NG.

SLATE-BLUE [BLUE] SEEDEATER Amaurospiza concolor relicta

Howell saw two separate females of this species in roadside bamboo
15-20 km by road north of Nueva Delhi (2000 m), on 16 Apr 1988.
This little-known form is endemic to southwest Mexico and was
discovered, in Guerrero, in 1932 when it was described as a new species
and genus (Griscom 1934). The other Guerrero records we are aware of
are five collected in July and August 1939 and May 1940 (Orr & Ray
1945), one collected by C. C. Lamb 7 miles south of Mexcala, in June
1947 (MLZ specimen), and a male collected by F. A. Pitelka 3 miles W
of Omiltemi (2450 m) in Apr 1950 (MVZ specimen).

Acknowledgements

We thank Peter Pyle and Richard G. Wilson for their company in the field, and Richard
G. Wilson and Ellen G. Strauss for contributing unpublished observations. We thank the
curators at the Moore Laboratory of Ornithology, Occidental College (MLZ), and
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of Berkeley, California (MVZ) for
permission to examine specimens in their care. This is contribution number 597 of Point
Reyes Bird Observatory.

References:

Alvarez del Toro, M. 1952. New records of birds from Chiapas, Mexico. Condor 54:
112-114.

American Ornithologists’ Union. 1983. Check-list of North American birds. 6th ed.
A.O.U., Washington, D.C.

Arnold, K. A. 1971. Three additional specimens of the Eared Poor-will from Guerrero,
Mexico. Condor 73: 475.

Arnold, K. A. & Maxwell, T. C. 1970. The Great Swallow-tailed Swift (Panyptila
sanctihieronymi) from the state of Guerrero, Mexico. Condor 72: 108.

Binford, L. C. 1965. Two new subspecies of birds from Oaxaca, Mexico. Occas. Pap.
Mus. Zool. La. State Univ. No. 30: 1-6.

Binford, L. C. 1989. A distributional survey of the avifauna of the Mexican state of
Oaxaca. Ornithol. Monogr. 43.

Blake E. R. 1950. Report on a collection of birds from Guerrero, Mexico. Fieldiana Zool.
31: 375-393.

Davis, W. B. 1944. Notes on summer birds of Guerrero. Condor 46: 9-14.

S.N. G. Howell & S. Webb 243 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

Dickerman, R. W. 1973. Further notes on the Western Grebe in Mexico. Condor 75:
131-132.

Dixon, K. L. & Davis, W. B. 1958. Some additions to the avifauna of Guerrero, Mexico.
Condor 60: 407.

Freidmann, H., Griscom, L. & Moore, R. T. 1950. Distributional check-list of the birds
of Mexico. Part 1. Pacific Coast Avifauna 29. Cooper Ornithol. Soc.

Griscom, L. 1934. The ornithology of Guerrero, Mexico. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 75:
365-422.

Griscom, L. 1937. A collection of birds from Omilteme (sic), Guerrero. Auk 54: 192-199.

Howell, S. N. G. 1989. The Short-crested Coquette: Mexico’s least-known endemic.
Birding 24: 86-91.

Howell, S. N. G. ms. Additional information on the birds of Colima and adjacent Jalisco.

Howell, S. N. G. & Engel, S. J. 1993. Seabird observations off western Mexico. Euphonia
1: 1-18.

Howell, S. N. G. & Webb, S. 1994. A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central
America. Oxford Univ. Press.

Howell, S. N. G. & Wilson, R. G. 1990. Chestnut-collared Longspur (Calcarius ornatus)
and other migrants of note in Guerrero, Mexico. Aves Mexicanas 2(90-1): 7-8.

Hunn, E. 1973. Noteworthy bird observations from Chiapas, Mexico. Condor 75: 483.

Miller, A. H. 1948. A new subspecies of Eared Poorwill from Guerrero Mexico. Condor
50: 244-225.

Miller, A. H., Freidmann, H., Griscom, L. & Moore, R. T. 1957. Distributional
check-list of the birds of Mexico. Part 1. Pacific Coast Avifauna 33. Cooper
Ornithol. Soc.

Moore, R. T. 1949. A new hummingbird of the genus Lophornis from southern Mexico.
Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 62: 103-104.

Navarro S., A. G. 1986. Distribucion altitudinal de las aves en La Sierra de Atoyac,
Guerrero. Tesis Professional, Univ. Nac. Autonoma de México. Mexico D.F.
Navarro S., A. G. 1992. Altitudinal distribution of birds in the Sierra Madre del Sur,

Guerrero, Mexico. Condor 94: 29-39.

Navarro S., A. G., Peterson, A. T. & Escalante P., P. 1992a. New distributional
information on Mexican birds. I. The Sierra de Atoyac, Guerrero. Bull. Brit. Orn.
Cl. 112: 6-11.

Navarro S., A. G., Peterson, A. T’., Escalante P., P. & Benitez D., H. 1992b. Cypseloides
storeri, a new species of swift from Mexico. Wilson Bull. 104: 55-64.

Orr, R. T. & Ray, M. S. 1945. Critical comments on the seed-eaters of the genus
Amaurospiza. Condor 47: 225-228.

Peterson, R. T. & Chalif, E. L. 1973. A Field Guide to Mexican Birds. Houghton Mifflin
Co. Boston, MA.

Phillips, A. R. 1966. Further systematic notes on Mexican birds. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 86:
86-94

Schaldach, W. J., Jr. 1963. The avidauna of Colima and adjacent Jalisco, Mexico. Proc.
W. Found. Vert. Zool. 1: 1-100.

Selander, R. K. 1955. Great Swallow-tailed Swift in Michoacan, Mexico. Condor 57:
123-125.

Warner, D. W. & Harrell, B. E. 1957. The systematics and biology of the Singing Quail
Dactylortyx thoracicus. Wilson Bull. 69: 123-148.

Webb, S. & Howell, S. N. G. 1993. New records of Hawk-Eagles from Guerrero,
Mexico. Euphonia 2: 19-21.

Wilson, R. G. & Ceballos-L., H. 1986. The Birds of Mexico City. BBC Printing &
Graphics Ltd., Burlington, Ontario.

Address: Steve N. G. Howell and Sophie Webb, Point Reyes Bird Observatory, 4490
Shoreline Highway, Stinson Beach, California 94970, U.S.A.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994

E. Mayr & F. Gerloff DAA Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

The number of subspecies of birds

by Ernst Mayr & Fane Gerloff

Received 20 August 1993

We now have a rather accurate estimate of the number of species of
birds (9700). What uncertainty still exists is caused less by species still
to be discovered than by differences of opinion on the status of
geographically rather isolated forms; it 1s sometimes quite arbitrary
whether to call them subspecies or allospecies. The recent raising in
rank of many such forms, considered subspecies 20 or 30 years ago, to
the rank of allospecies is the major reason for the rise of the number of
species of birds from the earlier censuses of about 8600 to the latest
count of 9672 in Sibley & Monroe (1990).

By contrast, no one in recent years has ventured to make a census or
even merely a guess as to the number of avian subspecies. This is why
Ernst Mayr, assisted by Jane Gerloff, decided to undertake such a
census. his census is simply based on the figures contained in the 15
volumes of Peters’ Check-list of Birds of the World (1934-1986). All
such a census can achieve is to get the approximate order of magnitude
of this figure.

There are five sources of inaccuracy for these figures.

1. Subspecies belonging to families treated in volumes 2-15 of the
Peters’ Check-list but described after the publication (1934, etc.) of the
relevant volume are not included. For volume 1 the date of 1979, when
the revised edition was published, is the cut-off date.

2 Invalid subspecies. No attempt was made to check the validity of any
of the listed subspecies. There is little doubt that many forms described
at the height of the subspecies-splitting period from the 1920s to the
1950s have been or will be synonymized in subsequent revisions.

3. Many particularly pronounced and highly isolated forms that were
listed as subspecies in the volumes of Peters’ Check-list, are now ranked
as allospecies. Others surely will also be raised in rank resulting in a
reduction of the number of subspecies and a corresponding increase 1n
the number of allospecies (without affecting the total number of
described forms). This great increase in the number of allospecies is the
cause for the much larger number of species recorded by Sibley &
Monroe than in Peters’ Check-list.

4 Family revisions, undertaken since the completion of Peters’
Check-list particularly by Sibley, have resulted in the shift of certain
genera to other families. Since many of these shifts are controversial,
none were here followed. They are of no relevance to the overall
figures.

5. Counting errors.

E. Mayr & ¥. Gerloff 245 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

Ratios
A B Cc D E F G H
Classification Species Ssp Total Ssp/sp Ssp/PT

Family Gen MT Pag Total PAR Bt+E E/D E/C

1 Struthionidae 1 0 1 1 5 5 5.00 5.00
2 Rheidae 2 0 2 2 8 8 4.00 4.00
3 Casuariidae 1 3 0 3 0 3 1.00 0.00
4 Dromaiidae 1 1 1 2 2 3 1.50 2.00
5 Apterygidae 1 2 1 3 3 5 1.67 3.00
6 Tinamidae 9 21 25 46 128 149 3.24 Sy
7 Diomedeidae 2 8 5 13 11 19 1.46 2.20
8 Procellariidae 12 39 21 60 67 106 1.77 3.19
9 Hydrobatidae 8 13 8 21 24 Sif 1.76 3.00
i0 Pelecanoididae 1 3 1 4 6 9 2:25 6.00
11 Spheniscidae 6 11 5 16 15 26 1.63 3.00
12 Gaviidae 1 3 1 4 3 6 1.50 3.00
13. Podicipedidae 6 9 11 20 41 50 2.50 3.73
14. Phaethontidae 1 0 3 3 12 12 4.00 4.00
15 Fregatidae 1 3 2 5 8 11 2.20 4.00
16 Phalacrocoracidae 2 16 15 31 45 61 1.97 3.00
17 Sulidae 1 5 + 9 13 18 2.00 3.25
18 Pelecanidae 1 - 2 6 8 12 2.00 4.00
19 Ardeidae 15 37 25 62 103 140 2.26 4.12
20 Scopidae 1 0 1 1 2 2 2.00 2.00
21 Ciconiidae 6 13 4 17 10 23 1.35 2.50
22 Balaenicipitidae 1 1 0 1 0 1 1.00 0.00
23 Threskiornithidae 13 19 9 28 30 49 1.75 B53)
24 Phoenicopteridae 3 + 1 5 2 6 1.20 2.00
25 Cathartidae 5 5 2 7 8 13 1.86 4.00
26 Accipitridae 60 116 102 218 434 550 2.52 4.25
27 Sagittariidae 1 1 0 1 0 1 1.00 0.00
28 Falconidae 10 32 28 60 132 164 2.73 4.71
29 Anatidae 43 106 44 150 140 246 1.64 3.18
30 Anhimidae ? 3 0 3 0 3 1.00 0.00
31 Megapodiidae 7 9 9 18 31 40 2.22 3.44
32 Cracidae 11 26 19 45 64 90 2.00 Basi
33 Tetraonidae 11 5 14 19 97 102 DEBI, 6.93
34 Phasianidae 57 88 97 185 468 556 3.01 4.82
35 Numididae 5 4 3 7 31 35 5.00 10.33
36 Meleagrididae 2 1 1 2 5 6 3.00 5.00
37 Opisthocomidae 1 1 0 1 0 1 1.00 0.00
38 Mesoenatidae 2 3 0 3 0 3 1.00 0.00
39 Turnicidae 2 6 8 14 45 Sil 3.64 5.63
40 Pedionomidae 1 1 0 1 0 1 1.00 0.00
41 Gruidae 4 9 5 14 14 23 1.64 2.80
42 Aramidae 1 0 1 1 5 5 5.00 5.00
43 Psophiidae 1 0 3 3 6 6 2.00 2.00
44 Rallidae 52 82 56 138 251 333 2.41 4.48
45 Heliornithidae 3 2 1 3 4 6 2.00 4.00
46 Rhynochetidae 1 1 0 1 0 1 1.00 0.00
47 Eurypygidae 1 0 1 1 3 3 3.00 3.00
48 Cariamidae 2 D: 0 2 0 2 1.00 0.00
49 Otidae 11 11 13 24 37 48 2.00 2.85
50 Jacanidae 6 5 2 7 12 17 2.43 6.00
51 Rostratulidae ? 1 1 2 2 3 1.50 2.00
52 Haematopodidae 1 2 2 + 19 21 5:25 9.50
53 Charadriidae 33 42 19 61 60 102 1.67 3.16
54 Scolopacidae 29 61 22 83 59 120 1.45 2.68
55 Recurvirostridae 4 6 1 7 6 12 1.71 6.00
56 Phalaropodidae 3 3 0 3 0 3 1.00 0.00
57 Dromadidae 1 1 0 1 0 1 1.00 0.00
58 — Burhinidae 3 3 6 9 23 26 2.89 3.83
59 Glareolidae 6 7 10 17 37 44 2.59 3.70
60 Thinocoridae 2 0 4 4 12 2 3.00 3.00

E. Mayr & F. Gerloff 246 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

Ratios
A B (e D E F G H
Classification Species : Ssp Total Ssp/sp Ssp/PT

Family Gen MT eae Total PT B+E E/D E/C

61 Chionididae 1 1 1 2 4 5 2.50 4.00
62 Stercoraridae 2 3 1 + 7 10 2.50 7.00
63 Laridae 17 54 31 85 131 185 2.18 4.23
64 Rynchopidae 1 2 1 3 4 6 2.00 4.00
65 Alcidae 13 16 7 23 21 37 1.61 3.00
66 Pteroclididae 2 4 12 16 41 45 2.81 3.42
67 Raphidae-[extinct] 1 2 0) 2 0 2 1.00 0.00
68 Columbidae 59 136 171 307 705 841 2.74 4.12
69 Psittacidae 81 164 171 335 614 778 D382) 3.59
70 Musophagidae 6 6 14 20 37 43 2.15 2.64
71 Cuculidae 38 61 68 129 296 357 2.77 4.35
72 Tytonidae 2, 4 6 10 56 60 6.00 9.33
73 Strigidae 27 52 81 133 482 534 4.02 5.95
74 Steatornithidae 1 1 0 1 0) 1 1.00 0.00
75 Podargidae 2 6 6 12 23 29 2.42 3.83
76 Nyctibiidae 1 2 3 5 12 14 2.80 4.00
77 Aegothelidae 1 2 5 7 15 17 2.43 3.00
78 Caprimulgidae 19 22 47 69 182 204 2.96 3.87
79 Apodidae 16 34 40 74 185 219 2.96 4.63
80 Hemiprocnidae 1 0) 3 3 15 15 5.00 5.00
81. Trochilidae 123 179 152 333 509 688 2.08 3.35
82 Coliidae 1 2 4 6 27 29 4.83 6.75
83 . Trogonidae 8 8 26 34 95 103 3.03 3.65
84 Alcedinidae 14 22 67 89 315 337 3.79 4.70
85 Todidae 1 5 0 5) 0 5 1.00 0.00
86 Momotidae 6 2 6 8 43 45 5.63 UY
87 Meropidae 7 12 12 24 38 50 2.08 Bali,
88 Leptosomatidae 1 0 1 1 3 3 3.00 3.00
89 Coraciidae 5 9 7 16 28 37 2.31 4.00
90 Upupidae 1 0 1 1 9 9 9.00 9.00
91 Phoeniculidae 2 (0) 6 6 27 27 4.50 4.50
92 Bucerotidae 12 17 29 46 87 104 2.26 3.00
93 Galbulidae 5 8 8 16 30 38 2.38 3.75
94 Bucconidae 10 13 20 33 63 76 2.30 3.15
95 Capitonidae 13 22 56 78 233 255 BD 4.16
96 Indicatoridae 4 6 7 akg} 30 36 2.77 4.29
97 Ramphastidae 5 23 18 41 64 87 Dis, 3.56
98 Picidae 38 67 147 214 788 855 4.00 5.36
99 Eurylaimidae 8 3 11 14 56 59 4.21 5.09
100 Dendrocolaptidae 13 9 39 48 251 260 5.42 6.44
101. Furnariidae 58 109 109 218 441 550 2.52 4.05
102. Formicariidae 53 90 134 224 594 684 3.05 4.43
103 Conopophagidae 2 5 6 11 20 25 2.27 3.33
104 Rhinocryptidae 12 13 14 27 50 63 2.33 3.57
105 Tyrannidae 89 173 219 392 936 1109 2.83 4.27
106 Pipridae 7/ 27 24 51 122 149 2.92 5.08
107 Cotingidae 25 44 17 61 49 93 1.52 2.88
108 Oxyruncidae 1 0 1 1 7 7 7.00 7.00
109 Phytotomidae 1 2 1 3 2 4 1.33 2.00
110 Pittidae 1 10 16 26 90 100 3.85 5.63
111. Philepittidae 2 4 0) 4 0 4 1.00 0.00
112 Acanthisittidae 2 2 2 4 5 7 1.75 2.50
113. Menuridae 1 1 1 2 2, 3 1.50 2.00
114 Atrichornithidae 1 1 1 2 2 3 1.50 2.00
115 Alaudidae 15 28 48 76 354 382 5.03 7.38
116 Hirundinidae 20 35 44 79 172 207 2.62 3.91
117. Motacillidae 5 25 29 54 159 184 3.41 5.48
118 Campephagidae 9 20 50 70 298 318 4.54 5.96
119 Pycnonotidae 15 43 UY 120 353 396 3.30 4.58
120 Irenidae 3 3 11 14 54 57 4.07 4.91

E. Mayr & ¥. Gerloff 247 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

Ratios
A B Cc D E F G H
Classification Species Ssp Total Ssp/sp Ssp/PT

Family Gen MT PT Total eA Dy B+E E/D E/C

121 Laniidae 12 26 48 74 231 257 3.47 4.81
122 Vangidae 8 7 5 12 10 17 1.42 2.00
123 Bombycillidae 5 5 3 8 9 14 1.75 3.00
124 Dulidae 1 1 (0) 1 0 1 1.00 0.00
125 Cinclidae 1 0 4 4 23 23 S75 5.75
126 Troglodytidae 14 12 47 59 345 357 6.05 7.34
127 Mimidae 13 12 19 31 73 85 2.74 3.84
128 Prunellidae 1 4 8 12 30 34 2.83 3.75
129 Turdidae 49 119 188 307 880 999 3.25 4.68
130 Timaliidae 65 94 203 297 960 1002 3.37 4.73
131 Sylviidae 60 124 234 358 1105 1229 3.43 4.72
132 Muscicapidae 9 41 66 107 271 312 2.92 4.11
133 Platysteiridae 4 15 15 30 44 59 1.97 2.93
134 Maluridae 4 9 16 25 56 65 2.60 3.50
135 Acanthizidae 17 30 42 72 177 207 2.88 4.21
136 Monarchidae 20 50 78 128 403 453 3.54 5.17
137. Eopsaltriidae 11 13 26 39 107 120 3.08 4.12
138 Pachycephalidae 10 11 35 46 259 270 5.87 7.40
139 Aegithalidae 3 3 5 8 40 43 5.38 8.00
140 Remizidae 4 4 6 10 24 28 2.80 4.00
141 Paridae 4 12 35 47 218 230 4.89 6.23
142 Sittidae 4 7 18 25 88 95 3.80 4.89
143 Certhiidae 2 2 4 6 36 38 6.33 9.00
144 Rhabdornithidae 1 0 2 2 2 8 4.00 1.00
145 Climacteridae 1 2 a 6 13 15 2.50 3.25
146 Dicaeidae a 18 40 58 167 185 3.19 4.18
147 Nectariniidae 5 41 75 116 352 393 8539) 4.69
148 Zosteropidae 11 44 38 82 197 241 2.94 5.18
149 Meliphagidae 39 77 95 172 380 457 2.66 4.00
150 Emberizidae 133 236 316 552 1496 1732 3.14 4.73
151 Parulidae 27 64 59 123 309 373 3.03 5.24
152 Drepanididae 12 14 U 21 25 39 1.86 3157,
153. Vireonidae 4 18 25 43 148 166 3.86 5.92
154 Icteridae 25 42 49 91 214 256 2.81 4.37
155 Fringillidae 20 48 74 122 357 405 3.32 4.82
156 Estrildidae 28 51 75 126 291 342 2.71 3.88
157 Ploceidae 19 67 76 143 291 358 2.50 3.83
158 Sturnidae 26 60 51 111 176 236 2.13 3.45
159 Oriolidae 2 10 18 28 73 83 2.96 4.06
160 Dicruridae 2 8 12 20 90 98 4.90 7.50
161 Callaeidae 3 1 ?) 3 4 5 1.67 2.00
162 Grallinidae 3 4 0 4 0 4+ 1.00 0.00
163 Artamidae 1 6 4 10 19 25 2.50 4.75
164 Cracticidae 3 2 8 10 34 36 3.60 4.25
165 Ptilonorhynchidae 8 7 10 17 33 40 2.35 3.30
166 Paradisaeidae 20 13 27 40 98 111 2.78 3.63
167 Corvidae 26 55 48 103 298 353 3.43 6.21
Totals 2129 3963 4931 8894 22,243 26,206 2.50 4.51

Contents of the Columns

A=Genera

B=Monotypic Species

C=Polytypic Species

D=Total number of Species in the family (B+C)

E=Number of subspecies in the polytypic species (nominate subspecies included)
F=Total number of forms (B+E)

G=Average number of Subspecies per Species (E/D)

H=Average number of Subspecies per Polytypic Species (E/C)

E. Mayr & fF. Gerloff 248 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

Totals

In the 167 families of birds recognized in Peters’ Check-list, 8894
species are listed. Of these, 3963 are monotypic (i.e., without
subspecies), while 4931 are considered polytypic. The total number of
listed subspecies (including the nominate one) in these polytypic
species is 22,243; not including the nominate subspecies in this total
reduces the number of subspecies to 17,289. The total number of listed
named forms, i.e. all subspecies and monotypic species, is 26,206. This
grand total is apt to be reasonably stable since is it not affected by the
shift of rank of a subspecies to an allospecies. Also, the sinking of
subspecies now considered invalid but recognized in Peters’ Check-list
and the subsequent recognition of new subspecies (not included in
Peters’ Check-list) will balance each other to some extent. However,
more valid subspecies were presumably published in the nearly sixty
years since the publication of vol. 2 (1934), than invalid ones are
included that are to be synonymized. The real total of valid named
forms is therefore presumably somewhere between 27,000 and 28,000.

We have tried to arrive at some generalizations on subspeciation.
Oceanic bird species usually have fewer subspecies than land birds.
Non-Passeres on average have fewer subspecies (usually less than three)
than Passeres (usually more than three). Families with few species vary
naturally the most, ranging from containing only monotypic species,
like the Todidae, to having only a single but polytypic species with 9
subspecies (Upupidae). wo factors seem to be primarily responsible
for the number of subspecies: the stability of the phenotype and the
dispersal-colonization propensity of the group, in other words, a
genetic and an ecological factor. One must undertake a species by
species analysis if one wants to get beyond these very modest
generalizations.

References:

Peters, J. L. 1934-1986. Check-list of Birds of the World. Museum of Comparative
Zoology, Cambridge.

Sibley, C. G. & Monroe, B. L. 1990. Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World.
Yale Univ. Press.

Address: Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, ~Cambridge,
Massachusetts 02138, U.S.A.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994

J. F. Villasenor & A. R. Phillips 249 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

A new, puzzling, American route of the Arctic
Tern Sterna paradisaea, and its implications

by Fosé Fernando Villasenor & Allan R. Phillips

Received 30 September 1993

The most famous of migrations are surely those of the Arctic Tern,
Sterna paradisaea Pontoppidan, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. It was
once thought they had been slightly exaggerated (Murphy 1936); but in
fact some or all of them are even longer than the necessary distance
involved. In the north, recaptures of ringed birds confirmed that, in
autumn, the eastern American populations fly east across the Atlantic
before turning south (Austin 1928); and quite likely some of these birds
re-cross it in the southern hemisphere! Similarly, Siberian populations
cross an ocean to the east before turning south; this tern “is not found
in southern Asia and in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans”’
(Alexander 1928).

Arctic Terns are (or were) similarly absent, normally, from vast areas
in and around the Caribbean Sea (and northward, as noted by
American Ornithologists’ Union (A.O.U. 1957)). And though Alerstam
(1990) still shows, speculatively, both spring and autumn migrations as
being near the west coasts of México and Central America, these terns
were still unrecorded from México (Friedmann et al. 1950), Belize
(Russell 1964), Guatemala (Land 1970), Honduras (Monroe 1968), El
Salvador (Dickey & van Rossem 1938; Thurber et al. 1987), Nicaragua,
and Costa Rica (Slud 1964, Stiles & Skutch 1989). The record nearest
Panama was of one taken c. 200 km off the Pacific coast of Colombia, 4
October 1924 (Wetmore 1965: 453), still the only Colombian record
(Hilty & Brown 1986). Nor is it reported elsewhere in South America
north of southern Ecuador (Meyer de Schauensee 1966). The only
Antillean record is for Cuba, 20 June 1950 (Garrido & Garcia 1975)—a
strange date for migration, but approached by some of the few recent
specimen records in non-breeding parts of the eastern United States.
(Bermuda records are for May and early June—Wingate 1973.)

By 1931 A.O.U. (following Austin 1928) had already given the
southern limit of migrant Arctic Terns, in eastern North America, as
Long Island, southern New York. Even here they are merely casual or
accidental (Reilly & Parkes 1959, Bull 1964). On their absence in the
eastern United States, see numerous local and state lists, some cited by
Lee & Cardiff (1993). See also the maps in various elementary
ornithology texts, starting with Wing (1956), and also in Storr (1958).

Inexplicably, the present official A.O.U. Check-list (1983), giving no
references, reversed all this. Despite the all-but-complete absence of
records anywhere in the region, it supposedly migrated “along the
Atlantic coast from New England to Florida (and west along the Gulf
coast to Texas)’’, Europe and Africa were omitted!

Yet even in New England it is virtually unknown away from
breeding areas (Maine, Massachusetts). There was, in fact, no record

J. F. Villasenor & A. R. Phillips 250 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

whatever for New Hampshire or Rhode Island. In Connecticut, though
breeding in the past is possible, there are still no specimens and less
than five accepted sight reports (F. C. Sibley zn Jitt.).

Curiously, a very different tern ecologically, the tropical Sooty Tern
Sterna fuscata, crosses the Atlantic similarly, at least in part: the young
of at least one United States colony (Robertson 1969; map) spend their
first two winters (or more) in West Africa. This and other
trans-Atlantic migrations, as of Brant Branta bernicla (Dennis 1990)
and Black-legged Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla (Godfrey 1966), were also
omitted by A.O.U. (1983).

Identification

Other similar northern hemisphere Sterna are readily told from
paradisaea by their longer tarsi. But field identification is difficult, even
with the other terns present for direct comparison; see for example
Cardiff & Dittmann (1991), Wendehorst (1930). Other in-hand
differences do exist (Laybourne, in Burleigh 1973; Weber 1981, Conry
& Webb 1982), but wear, staining, moult, age (once full-grown), sex,
breeding cycles, lighting, postures, etc., do not affect the short tarsus.
‘This is constant, not seasonally variable. So we have relied on it.

Despite such claims as that field identification of juvenile terns “‘is
moderately easy in reasonable conditions’”’ (Grant & Scott 1969), many
terns have been misidentified even in museums. Thus Clapp e¢ al.
(1983) found “‘so few of the specimens we examined proved to be
correctly identified ... some species are so difficult to distinguish that
nothing but a scientific specimen is entirely satisfactory for
re-evaluation of an earlier record.”’

Even where Arctic Terns’ passage, at times, is substantiated, caution
is needed. Thus, off southern California, most of the few spring adults
pass in mid-May to early June. ““This late passage is in opposition to
published reports of large concentrations close to the northern
California coast in late April and early May (which we suspect to be in
error). In southern California “they are only rarely observed from
shore, and we suspect that many sightings from shore are erroneous”’
(Garrett & Dunn 1981: 193).

Elsewhere reports of Arctic Terns, often identified by single charac-
ters such as bill colour, are questionable; see Alexander (1952), Goethe
(1935), Steinbacher (1935) and Cardiff & Dittmann (1991), and various
reports of hybrid Sterna. All pale, moderately small terns ever taken
and preserved in the immense interior of North America—south of
Northwest Territories and vicinity, east of the Rocky Mountain
states, and west of southeastern Ontario, western New York, the Atlantic
states and recently Louisiana—proved to be forsteri or hirundo. We
particularly doubt a recent July report from Michigan (Payne 1983).

Arctic Terns in México

Lists and guides of Mexican birds commonly omit the Arctic Tern. But
Dickerman & Phillips (1976) pointed out that it must surely occur

F. F. Villasenor & A. R. Phillips 251 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

regularly. In adjacent California it is a ““common to very common fall
migrant and uncommon spring migrant on the open ocean. .. . strictly
pelagic ... rarely occurring within 8 km of shore. ... has never been
satisfactorily identified on shore’? (Unitt 1984). Yet Baja California
reports remain extremely few; all are sight reports, of at most two birds.
Indeed Wilbur (1987) reported none south of Islas Los Coronados,
right at the California border—overlooking the report from Isla
Guadalupe (Jehl & Everett 1985).

Thus S. paradisaea apparently becomes increasingly pelagic south of
California, presumably avoiding warmer inshore waters. This was not
unexpected. It migrates largely at sea; those birds that migrate (in small
part) overland are avoiding long, round-about journeys or unfavourable
territory (Godfrey 1973).

On 23 May 1954, Dwain W. Warner and Phillips saw about 50 pale
terns in Bahia de Banderas not far off Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, where
none had been seen in mid-May. On 25 May, Warner saw about 200
along the beach in the southern part of town, evidently mostly
immatures. A bird collected from a rock above the beach proved to our
surprise to be paradisaea; but it was evidently sick, having a large
tumour on the right side of the abdomen. Its occurrence in Pacific
México seemed accidental.

Jehl (1974) found pale terns “locally common off the coast of
Michoacan on 3 April’ but scarce elsewhere off Pacific Middle
America. These he called S. hirundo; but “‘At sea most terns did not
approach the ship closely and similar species could have been
overlooked at a distance. ‘The northward migration route of the Arctic
Tern (S. paradisaea) is unknown. I made special efforts to look for
white-bodied terns well offshore, but saw none’’. Fishermen also told
Villasenor of numerous groups of 200 or more terns c. 20-25 km off
Michoacan in April and May.

The nearby Michoacan beaches were then unexplored during
migrations. As soon as bird remnants were collected, problems arose. A
second-from-outer primary (Maruata, 30 June 1979, A.R.P.) was
identified by R. C. Laybourne as Sterna dougalli—unknown within
thousands of km. But it was worn, and better evidence seemed
important.

In September 1983, Villasenor began a study of the birds of the
beaches of Maruata, Colola, and E] Farito, famous as being among
the main breeding grounds of the sea turtle Chelonia agassizu. At
Maruata he collected an outer primary, and much of the wing of a
different tern, 11 February and 3 March 1984. These R. C.
Laybourne identified as S. hirundo. But the outermost primary is
very similar in hirundo and paradisaea; and S. L. Olson pointed out
to Phillips that the attached humerus seemed small for hirundo. Still,
paradisaea seemed highly unlikely; it was not supposed to migrate
anywhere near Michoacan.

Villasenor also collected full study skins of terns resting at night on
the sand. In preparing the first five (taken 16 and 17 October 1983, and
23 October 1985) for the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de
Hidalgo, he noted discrepancies with descriptions of the expected

J. F. Villaseror S& A. R. Phillips 252 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

TABLE 1
Individuals of Sterna collected on Michoacan beaches

Date Locality Species Specimen(s) ‘T'arsi (mm) Fat
14 Feb 1980 Boca de Apiza, hirundo 23 im., 20.9, 22.7, Mostly
southwesternmost 12 im. 1 [ad] sex? — ,19.5 general

Michoacan
18 Feb 1980 Punta San Telmo, hirundo 24 ad., 19 ad. 21.3, 21.4, Mostly

southwesternmost 20.4 general
Michoacan
16 Oct 1983 Maruata paradisaea 1g ad., 12 im. 15.9, 15.4 No
17 Oct 1983 Maruata paradisaea 1d ad., 1¢ im. 1529S GES No
18 Oct 1986 Maruata paradisaea 14 im., 12 im., 16.4, 14.9, No
1 [im.] sex?, 17.2
part of a wing

20 Oct 1986 El] Farito paradisaea 1 [im.] sex? 15.0 No
23 Oct 1985 Colola paradisaea 13 im. 16.4 No
29 Dec 1982 Maruata hirundo 19 ad. 20.1 Scarce
30 Dec 1982 Maruata hirundo 192 im. 20.9 No

hirundo. Phillips, visiting in December 1985, found four of five terns
examined to be paradisaea!

Villasenor later collected and determined other Michoacan
paradisaea (‘Vable 1), comparing this identified material. This is clearly
the predominant tern on the beaches in October (Villasenor 1990,
1993). Almost all the specimens are juveniles, without fat reserves, as if
after a long, hard flight.

Possible routes to Michoacan

Whence do these terns reach Michoacan, undetected? As shown above,
it cannot be from the east or northeast. And to arrive over the sea from
the west, they would have to turn rather sharply east (or even northeast,
to land) after having migrated far south. More likely their route is at
least partially over land, like the James Bay birds (Godfrey 1973).

A transcontinental flight south to Michoacan would seem to present
greater difficulties than would shorter overland journeys more east- or
westward; and few pale terns, except forsteri, are seen (at surface levels)
in most of interior North America. These were almost automatically
called hirundo, even by such an expert ornithologist as Burleigh (1972
vs. 1973); identification is difficult, and (supposedly) paradisaea and
dougalli did not occur. (Early reports of paradisaea, as breeding in
Wisconsin, had been discredited by Schorger, in editing Kumlien &
Hollister 1951.) By 1966 Godfrey concluded, logically, that in Canada
‘‘postbreeding movements are to the Atlantic and Pacific oceans’.

But re-study of collections in the late 1960s and 1970s by A. R.
Phillips, R. C. Laybourne and others produced fall records of Arctic
Terns from Arizona, Idaho, and Colorado (Monson & Russell 1975,
Burleigh 1973, Conry & Webb 1982). In southeastern Washington they
may now be regular (Weber 1981).

J. F. Villasenor S A. R. Phillips 253 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

Thus (1) at least some do migrate south far away from the
well-publicized routes. R. W. Dickerman informs us that there is now
a record as far southeast as eastern New Mexico, and (2) it seems most
unlikely that almost the only pale, slender-billed tern (aside from
forstert) ever taken in central-western Mexico, west and northwest of
Michoacan, should be of an accidental species. Rather, careful
collecting is needed.

Can long overland flights be largely made at high elevations? This,
plus local ornithologists’ concentration on more “‘interesting’’, localized
forms of land birds, might produce the supposed absence, or scarcity,
of Arctic and Common ‘Terns in the Rocky Mountain—Great Basin
Region; and in any case, these resembled the more usual forsteri, and no
tern was endemic. Major museums, too, sent collectors for local species
and subspecies, not for widespread birds more easily available
elsewhere. Thus it was the collecting of Arctic Terns that was
accidental, not necessarily their presence.

It is thus uncertain that paradisaea is “‘casual or accidental’”’ in the
inland west (A.O.U. 1983, overlooking the Arizona and inland
Washington records). Rather, we need more intensive, selective
collecting in western Mexico and along two possible routes to the
north:

(a) Eastern California. Here all records are of adults, 22 May and 1 to
13 June. More doubtfully on this route were the terns in eastern
Washington, 21 May 1957 (Franklin County) and 3 August 1978 (on
the Idaho border; not 1987, as in Stephens & Sturts 1991), recorded by
Weber (1981).

The Gulf of California remains enigmatic. Collecting well offshore in
season would probably rectify the present absence of records. Monson
& Phillips (1981) repeated that both Arizona specimens were taken
after storms in the Gulf; but were they not possibly precipitated from
the western part of the inland route?

(b) East of the above regions, records (except as above) are from 4
and 8 September to 6 October—somewhat later than the main passage
off California. (The report from Colorado on 9 July [Cooke 1897] is
improbable.) The apparent convergence of these inland birds later on
Michoacan may be due to the lack of collecting in other parts of
Mexico.

The insufficiency of reliable data

Demarcation of this inland route, and/or of one via central-western
México, might be possible if numbers of terns could be marked in
central northern Canada, preferably with small radio-transmitters. But
this we cannot expect. Still, evidence (positive or negative) might be
obtained by more intensive searching and collecting west and northwest
of Michoacan, if barriers to knowledge were removed. At least
scientists should be free to collect and transport remnants from
beaches. If learning were untrammelled, and birders took a more
serious interest in distributions and migrations, Weber’s suggestion
(1981: 163) that “perhaps paradisaea is a more frequent migrant...

J. F. Villasetor & A. R. Phillips 254 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

than previously known” might prove true far beyond eastern
Washington, etc.

The lessons of recent discoveries

The scanty evidence yet available points to an overland route to
southwestern México. This would be different indeed (both
geographically and ecologically) from all portrayals of the world’s most
famous bird migrations. Once more, universally accepted, oft-repeated
knowledge is not necessarily complete—even on the distributions and
migrations of common, conspicuous diurnal birds.

The case is hardly unique. Thus overland flights of some oceanic
gulls ‘‘via the interior of North America’’ to southeastern California
and the Gulf of California were suggested by Devillers et al. (1971: 25),
and when attention was focused on other diurnal, usually common,
American birds in collections, other surprises surfaced.

(1) In Catharacta skuas, the facts in the North Pacific had been
almost completely reversed, and there was some confusion elsewhere
(Devillers 1977). All northeast Pacific birds had been reported as some
race of C. skua, or (A.O.U. 1931) as C. chilensis. All the other southern
forms were restricted by Hellmayr & Conover (1948b) to the far south,
wintering north no farther than Brazil.

Devillers (1977) re-identified all these western United States birds as
the Antarctic C. maccormicki, “‘an uncommon but regular fall visitor to
both California and Washington”’ with one specimen from Greenland,
where a second was reported by Parmelee et al. (1977) (but their ‘““Baja
California” report actually refers to a ring found in the sand in
northwestern Sonora [El Golfo de Santa Clara], fide the finder, Jack
Strauss, in litt. to A.R.P.)

Devillers also called C. chilensis a species, and had dubious reports
north to southern México (Oaxaca) in the Pacific. Some specimens were
somewhat doubtful; and hybridization of maccormicki and “C.
lonnbergi’’ is reported (Trivelpiece & Volkman 1980, Abstract no. 45,
98th Stated Meeting A.O.U.).

(2) Because spring migrant and juvenile Semipalmated Sandpipers
Calidris (Ereunetes) pusilla are abundant in the eastern United States,
it was generally assumed that similar sized ‘peeps’ in nondescript
winter plumage were also pusilla. By 1931 A.O.U. had it wintering
north to South Carolina, to which it added (1957) the coast of the Gulf
of México. It was on birders’ lists each winter, and was seen by the
hundreds or thousands on Christmas Bird Counts. Peterson’s classic
Field Guide (1947) called it ‘““The commonest of the ‘peep’ in the
East’’, presumably at all seasons. (The similar Western Sandpiper C.
(E.) mauri “is a sticker, hard to identify’’.)

But pusilla’s true winter range (Phillips 1975b) is mainly in South
America, north barely to southern México and southern Florida. It is
actually mauri that winters farther north.

(3) For the North American race of Cinnamon ‘Teal Anas cyanoptera
septentrionalium, A.O.U. exaggerated the winter range southward.
Again, when two species are hardly distinguishable, birds are assumed

F. F. Villasenor & A. R. Phillips 255 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

to be of the species common at another season when males, at least, are
distinctive. But Nature is not so simple.

Ducks are less often preserved as specimens than waders. But we
must note that Cinnamon ‘Teal specimens are unreported between
México and Colombia, except perhaps an old Panama record without
details. An old record from Costa Rica is probably an error (Slud 1964);
recent sight reports (Stiles & Skutch 1989) may not be of wild
septentrionalium, and would be casual at best. Modern Panama records
are band recoveries (a sight report by N. G. Smith; but see Smith 1991,
Snell 1991). Monroe’s (1968) several reports from Caribbean Honduras
are quite unlikely, and one has already been questioned; see Phillips
1975c: 70-71. (This teal is unreported from Yucatan Peninsula; Paynter
1955.) :

Perhaps this exaggeration was based on ringing returns; A.
cyanoptera was not credited to Guatemala by either Griscom (1932) or
Saunders (1950).

Hellmayr & Conover (1948a) gave its normal winter range as south to
Michoacan and Veracruz, México; “probably sparingly ... to
Colombia and perhaps Ecuador’’. Presumably they were influenced by
F. C. Lincoln’s report of one ringed in Oregon and taken in Magdalena,
Colombia. Later summaries were less circumspect. A.O.U. (1957)
reported it to “‘Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama (Canal Zone), and
northern Colombia (from the Cauca Valley to Santa Marta); possibly to
Ecuador’. Johnsgard (in Mayr & Cottrell 1979) repeated this: ‘“‘to
northern Colombia; casual east and south’’. A.O.U. (1983) even
described it as wintering south to northern Ecuador.

But in parts of the western United States, where Cinnamon Teal are
common, most of them migrate south early (at least where carefully
studied, in Arizona; Phillips et al. 1964). A flight of the scarcer
Blue-winged Teal A. discors then moves in. These nondescript
basic-(winter-)plumaged teal are ringed as the common (in spring)
cyanoptera; and the U.S.A. Bird Banding Office so reports them,
wherever recaptured. No one ever critically examines or preserves the
supposedly extralimital birds (Phillips 1975c: 71; still officially ignored,
as above).

(4) The extinction of the once common “old northeastern Red
Crossbill” Loxia curvirostra neogaea was overlooked due to confusion
with other races that periodically invade its former range (and at
times even breed there). See Phillips (1975a) and Dickerman (1986,
1987).

(5) Gulls (Larus) in well-studied museums and _ identified by
authorities also prove unreliable. Devillers et al. (1971) re-examined 16
““Glaucous Gulls” (L. hyperboreus) confirmed in a special study by
Johnston (1955); six proved to be misidentified, including three of the
four California birds in the University of California Museum of
Vertebrate Zoology. Another California gull, called hyperboreus by
Grinnell & Miller (1944), had previously been called an Iceland Gull L.
leucopterus (=glaucoides) by no less an authority than Dwight, and was
indeed too small for hyperboreus; but it was actually neither of these
forms.

J. F. Villasenor & A. R. Phillips 256 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

Devillers et al. (1971) also found that Thayer’s Gull L. glaucoides [?]
thayeri ‘‘has only recently begun to be recognized, but winters regularly
in sizeable numbers along the coast’’, etc. :

Thus carefully studied, officially recognized scientific ‘knowledge’ is
not immutable (and recent changes are not necessarily in the direction
of accuracy, as shown by comparing older to 1983 A.O.U. Check-lists).
For Nature’s truths we must remain alert. The day of the collector has
not passed, for those who value accuracy; see also Winker et al. (1991).

Had collecting (and museum studies) ceased by 1965, we would still
think Arctic Terns accidental anywhere between California and
Ecuador, or between the Pacific and New England coasts. (And all
Hawaiian S. sumatrana, reported by outstanding ornithologists, proved
to be immature /irundo; Clapp et al. 1983.) What we need, for
unforeseen problems, is better collecting, with full data.

Preserving biodiversity requires, in a few cases, regular collecting
and careful comparison (see Loxia above), to understand problems. If
this seems paradoxical, remember the facts: very few small birds
survive and nest successfully (even in undisturbed habitats) more than
a few years at most. We cannot confer immortality (outside of a
museum collection) on short-lived, doomed individuals; but facing
problems with open eyes and minds, we can work to save populations.
‘This should be our aim.

Acknowledgements

We thank S. W. Cardiff, R. W. Dickerman, J. R. Jehl, Jr., P. E. Scott, F. C. Sibley and
the late H. M. Stevenson for information on local status, and Cardiff for a copy of a
recent paper. D. W. Warner aided A.R.P., and L. E. Villasenor and M. Mejia helped
J.F.V., in the field. J. S. Weske also sent publications unavailable to us; M. R. Browning,
R. W. Campbell, J. V. Dennis, C. S. Houston, G. Monson and R. S. Palmer supplied
and verified certain references. R. B. Clapp was especially helpful, supplying numerous
publications of his own and others. We thank D. W. Snow for improving the manuscript.

References:

Alerstam, T. 1990. Bird Migration. Cambridge Univ. Press.

Alexander, H. G. 1952. Arctic Tern with yellow bill and legs in autumn. Brit. Birds 45:
469-470.

Alexander, W. B. 1928. Birds of the Ocean. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York and London.

A.O.U. (American Ornithologists’ Union) 1931. Check-list of North American Birds, 4th
edn.

A.O.U. 1957. Idem, 5th edn.

A.O.U. 1983. Idem, 6th edn.

Austin, O. L., Jr. 1928. Migration-routes of the Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea
Bruinnich). Bull. Northeastern Bird-Banding Assoc. 4: 121-125.

Bull, J. 1964. Birds of the New York Area. Harper & Row, New York.

Burleigh, T. D. 1972. Birds of Idaho. Caxton Printers, Caldwell, Idaho.

Burleigh, T. D. 1973. First Arctic Tern recorded in Idaho. Auk 90: 693.

Cardiff, S. W. & Dittmann, D. 1991. Comments on the first Arctic Tern record for
‘Tennessee. Migrant 62: 67-68.

Clapp, R. B., Laybourne, R. C. & Pyle, R. L. 1983. Status of the Common Tern (Sterna
hirundo) in the tropical Pacific, with a note on records of the Black-naped Tern
(Sterna sumatrana) in Hawaii. Elepaio 43: 97-100.

Conry, J. A. & Webb, B. E. 1982. An extant specimen of Arctic Tern from Colorado.
Western Birds 13: 37-38.

Cooke, W. W. 1897. The Birds of Colorado. State Agric. College (Col. State Univ.),
Bull. 37 (Tech. Series 2).

J. F. Villasenor & A. R. Phillips 257 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

Dennis, J. V. 1990. Banded North American Birds encountered in Europe: an update.
N. Amer. Bird Bander 15: 130-133.

Devillers, P. 1977. The skuas of the North American Pacific coast. Auk 94: 417-429.

Devillers, P., McCaskie, G. & Jehl, J. R., Jr. 1971. The distribution of certain large gulls
(Larus) in southern California and Baja California. Calif. Birds 2: 11-26.

Dickerman, R. W. 1986. A review of the Red Crossbill in New York State. Parts 1 and 2.
Kingbird 36: 73-78, 127-134.

Dickerman, R. W. 1987. The old northeastern Red Crossbill. Amer. Birds 41: 189-194.

Dickerman, R. W. & Phillips, A. R. 1976. [Review of] A Field Guide to Mexican Birds.
Wilson Bull. 88: 174-177.

Dickey, D. R. & van Rossem, A. J. 1938. The Birds of El Salvador. Field Mus. Nat. Hist.
Publ., Zool. Ser. 23.

Friedmann, H., Griscom, L. & Moore, R. T. 1950. Distributional check-list of the birds
of Mexico. Part I. Pacific Coast Avifauna 29.

Garrett, K. & Dunn, J. 1981. Birds of Southern California: Status and Distribution. Los
Angeles Audubon Society.

Garrido, O. H. & Garcia M., F. 1975. Catalogo de las aves de Cuba. Acad. de Ciencias de
Cuba, La Habana.

Godfrey, W. E. 1966. The Birds of Canada. National Museums of Canada, Bull. 203,
Biol. Ser. 73.

Godtrey, W. E. 1973. A possible shortcut spring migration route of the Arctic Tern to
James Bay, Canada. Canad. Field-Nat. 87: 51-52.

Goethe, F. 1935. [Comments on Steinbacher 1935]. Vogelzug 6: 39-40.

Grant, P. J. & Scott, R. E. 1969. Field identification of juvenile Common, Arctic and
Roseate Terns. Brit. Birds 62: 297-299.

Grinnell, J. & Miller, A. H. 1944. The distribution of the birds of California. Pacific
Coast Avifauna 27.

Griscom, L. 1932. The distribution of bird-life in Guatemala. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist.
64.

Hellmayr, C. E. & Conover, B. 1948a, 1948b. Catalogue of Birds of the Americas. Zool.
Ser. Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Vol. 13, Part I, no. 2, no. 3.

Hilty, S. L. & Brown, W. L. 1986. A Guide to the Birds of Colombia. Princeton Univ.
Press.

Jehl, J. R., Jr. 1974. The near-shore avifauna of the Middle American west coast. Awk 91:
681-699.

Jehl, J. R., Jr. & Everett, W. T. 1985. History and status of the avifauna of Isla
Guadalupe, Mexico. Trans. San Diego Soc. Nat. Hist. 20: 313-336.

Johnston, D. W. 1955. The Glaucous Gull in western North America south of its
breeding range. Condor 57: 202-207.

Kumlien, L. & Hollister, N. 1951. The Birds of Wisconsin (A. W. Schorger revision).
Wisc. Soc. for Ornithology, Madison, Wisconsin.

Land, H. C. 1970. Birds of Guatemala. Livingston Publ. Co., Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.

Lee, D. S. & Cardiff, S. W. 1993. Status of the Arctic Tern in the coastal southeastern
United States. 7. Field Orn. 64: 158-168.

Mayr, E. & Cottrell, G. W. (eds) 1979. Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 1 (2nd edn).
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard.

Meyer de Schauensee, R. 1966. The Species of Birds of South America and their
Distribution. Livingston Publ. Co., Narberth, Pennsylvania.

Monroe, B. L., Jr. 1968. A Distributional Survey of the Birds of Honduras. Orn. Monogr.
no. 7, American Ornithologists’ Union.

Monson, G. & Phillips, A. R. 1981. Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Arizona. 2nd edn.
Univ. Arizona Press.

Monson, G. & Russell, S. M. 1975. Arctic Tern in Arizona. Auk 92: 153-154.

Murphy, R. C. 1936. Oceanic Birds of South America. Vol. 2. MacMillan Co./Am. Mus.
Nat. Hist.

Parmelee, D. F., Fraser, W. R. & Neilson, D. R. 1977. Birds of the Palmer Station area.
Antarctic 7. U.S.A. 12: 14-21.

Payne, R. B. 1983. A distributional checklist of the birds of Michigan. Mus. Zool. Univ.
Mich., Misc. Publ. no. 164.

Paynter, R. A., Jr. 1955. The ornithogeography of the Yucatan Peninsula. Bull. Peabody
Mus. Nat. Hist. 9.

Peterson, R. T. 1947. A Field Guide to the Birds. 2nd edn. Houghton Mifflin Co.

J. F. Villasenor S A. R. Phillips 258 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

Phillips, A. R. 1975a. The incredible American Red Crossbill, Loxia curvirostra,
Carduelinae. Emu 74 (suppl.): 282.

Phillips, A. R. 1975b. Semipalmated Sandpipers: EGO migrations, Summer and
winter ranges. Amer. Birds 29: 799-806.

Phillips, A. R. 1975c. Why neglect the difficult? Western Birds 6: 69-86.

Phillips, A., Marshall, J. & Monson, G. 1964. The Birds of Arizona. Univ. Arizona Press.

Reilly, E. M. & Parkes, K. C. 1959. Preliminary Annotated Checklist of New York State
Birds. N.Y. State Mus. & Science Service, State Education Dept., Albany.

Robertson, W. B., Jr. 1969. Transatlantic migration of juvenile Sooty Terns. Nature 223:
632-634.

Russell, S. M. 1964. A Distributional Study of the Birds of British Honduras. Orn.
Monogr. no. 1, American Ornithologists’ Union.

Saunders, G. B. 1950. The game birds and shorebirds of Guatemala. Pp. 3-98 in G. B.
Saunders, A. D. Holloway & C. O. Handley, Jr., A Fish and Wildlife Survey of
Guatemala. U.S. Dept. Interior, Fish GS Wildl. Serv., Special Sci. Rep.: Wildlife

no. 5.

Slud, P. 1964. The birds of Costa Rica/Distribution and ecology. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat.
Hist. 128.

Smith, N. G. 1991. Arctic gulls 32 years later: a reply to Snell. Colonial Waterbirds 14:
190-195.

Snell, R. R. 1991. Conflation of the observed and hypothesized: Smith’s 1961 research in
Home Bay, Baffin Island. Colonial Waterbirds 14: 196-202.

Steinbacher, G. 1935. Schnabelfarbung bei der Flussseeschwalbe (Sterna hirundo) und
Kustenseeschwalbe (St. paradisaea). Vogelzug 6: 39.

Stephens, D. A. & Sturts, S. H. 1991. Idaho Bird Distribution. Idaho Mus. Nat. Hist.,
Special Publ. 11.

Stiles, F. G. & Skutch, A. F. 1989. A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica. Comstock Publ.
Associates, Ithaca, New York.

Storr, G. M. 1958. Migration routes of the Arctic Tern. Emu 58: 59-62.

Thurber, W. A., Serrano, J. F., Sermeno, A. & Benitez, M. 1987. Status of uncommon
or previously unreported birds of El Salvador. Proc. Western Found. Vert. Zool. 3:
109-293.

Unitt, P. 1984. The Birds of San Diego County. Mem. San Diego Soc. Nat. Hist. 13, San
Diego, California.

Villasenor, J. F. 1990. Avifauna Costera de Michoacan, México: estacionalidad,
abundancia relativa y habitos alimenticios. Cuaderno de _ Investigacion no. 8.
Coordinacién de la Investigacion Cientifica y Museo de Hist. Nat., Univ.
Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo, Morelia.

Villasenor, J. F. 1993. First documented records of the Arctic Tern on the Pacific Coast
of Mexico. Wilson Bull. 105: 364-365.

Weber, J. W. 1981. New Tern records from southeastern Washington and northern
Idaho. Continental Birdlife 2: 160-164.

Wendehorst, R. 1930. Fluss- und Kiistenseeschwalbe auf Trischen. Ein Beitrag zur
Unterscheidung beider Arten in freier Natur. Orn. Monatsber. 38: 133-137.

Wetmore, A. 1965. The Birds of the Republic of Panama. Part I. Smiths. Misc. Coll. 150.

Wilbur, S. R. 1987. Birds of Baja California. Univ. California Press.

Wing, 1 W. 1956. Natural History of Birds/A Guide to Ornithology. Ronald Press Co.,
New York.

Wingate, D. B. 1973. A Checklist and Guide to the Birds of Bermuda. Privately published,
Bermuda.

Winker, K., Fall, B. A., Klicka, J. T., Parmelee, D. F. & Tordoff, H. B. 1991. The
importance of avian collections and the need for continued collecting. Loon 63:
238-246.

Addresses: José Fernando. Villasenor, Museo de Historia Natural ‘“‘Manuel Martinez
Solorzano’’, and Coleccién de Aves, U.M.S.N.H. Luis de Velazco 155, Centro,
Morelia 58000, Michoacan, México. Allan R. Phillips, Reforma 825-A, Col.
Chapultepec, San Nicolas de los Garza 66450, Nuevo Leon, México.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994

S. Somadtkarta 259 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

The identity of the Marquesan Swiftlet
Collocalia ocista Oberholser

by S. Somadikarta

Received 12 October 1993

In 1906 Oberholser described the swiftlet of the Marquesas Islands as a
new species, Collocalia ocista. The holotype, USNM 212330, is a 2
collected from Nukuhiva Is. by C. H. Townsend on 16 September
1899. The description was based on a total of 5 specimens collected
from two different groups of islands, which are more than 1000 km
apart, the Marquesas Islands (1 dg, 1 9, 2 unsexed) and the Society
Islands (1 @).

The classification of swiftlets presents some of the most difficult
problems in avian taxonomy (Oberholser 1906, Mayr 1937, Peters
1940, Salomonsen 1983). It is not surprising, therefore, that authors
have varied opinions as to whether ocista should be recognised as a
species. Stresemann (1925) recognised it as a subspecies of C. francica.
Berlioz (1929), Fisher & Wetmore (1931) and Pratt (1986) agreed to
accept it as a full species, while Mayr (1937), Peters (1940), Medway
(1966), Holyoak (1975) and Salomonsen (1983) considered ocista
as a subspecies of C. leucophaea. Holyoak & "Thibault (1978),
however, treated C. ocista and C. leucophaea as “‘closely related
forms’’.

Oberholser (1906) pointed out that much confusion arose because
of the failure to discriminate the swiftlets having the tarsus entirely
naked from those in which the tarsus is more or less feathered. He
further assumed that the problems would disappear if all the swiftlets
with any feathering on the tarsus were placed in a separate subgeneric
group. Based on this characteristic, Oberholser (1906) separated the
genus Collocalia into two subgenera: (1) his proposed newly erected
subgenus Aerodramus, type Collocalia innominata Hume, character-
ized by tarsus more or less feathered; and (2) subgenus Collocalia,
type Collocalia esculenta (Linn.), characterized by tarsus entirely
without feathers.

However, although tarsal feathering is surely an important
differentiating character in swiftlets. I doubt whether the genus
Collocalia should be separated into two subgeneric groups based solely
on tarsal feathering. Oberholser (1906) seemed unaware that there are
species which he listed under subgenus Collocalia that also have a
feathered tarsus, and vice versa.

Based on the colour of the plumage and the ability to echolocate,
Brooke (1970) separated the genus Collocalia Gray, 1840 into three
subgenera. Two years later (Brooke 1972), on reconsideration, he gave
these full generic rank, namely Hydrochous, Aerodramus and Collocalia
(cf. Medway & Pye 1977). I agree with Dickinson (1989a, b), Sibley &
Monroe (1990) and Dickinson et al. (1991) in putting all the swiftlets
(incl. gigas) in the genus Collocalia Gray, 1840.

S. Somadikarta 260 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

TABLE 1
Wing & tail lengths, and tail furcation (in mm) of swiftlets from Marquesas and Tahiti
Islands
Marquesas Tahiti
(ocista ) (leucophaea)
n mean s.d. n mean s.d.
Wing length 70 19211 DSi 9 122.00 2.03
‘Tail length* 70 61.47 1.88 9 56.00 2.46
Tail furcation** 70 9.48 1.42 9 5.94 1.51
*=outer tail; **=(outer tail—inner tail) length

I have examined 106 specimens of swiftlets from Marquesas Islands
(Nukuhiva Is.: 27 $d, 8 92, 11 unsexed, 3 juvs.; Uahuka Is.: 9 gd,
8 29, 4 unsexed; Eaiu Is.: 1 ¢, 2 99, 3 unsexed; Uapu Is.: 2 gg, 1 &,
2 unsexed; Hivaoa Is.: 8 dg, 3 92, 11 unsexed; and Tahuata Is.: 3 29)
including the holotype of ocista from Nukuhiva Island, and 18
specimens from Society Islands (Tahiti Is.: 12 $3, 4 99, 2 unsexed)
including the syntypes of leucophaea (MCZ 75699 & USNM 14328)
and the holotype of thespesia (USNM 212329). The skins for this study
are in the collections of AMNH (New York), BMNH (Tring, UK),
MCZ (Harvard), MNHN (Paris) and USNM (Washington).

The swiftlet from ‘Tahiti has a longer wing than that of the
Marquesas (cf. Holyoak & Thibault 1978). In contrast, the Marquesan
Swiftlet has a longer tail and deeper tail furcation than that of the
‘Tahiti Is. (Table 1). It is very difficult, however, to separate the two
populations by the colour of the feathers without using a colour guide.
‘The back feathers of the Marquesas bird are consistently dusky brown,
while those of Tahiti are consistently fuscous (colour nos. 19 and 21,
respectively; Smithe 1975).

The tarsus of C. leucophaea from ‘Yahiti is naked, while on the basis
of this character the Marquesan Swiftlet consists of two populations.
The northern population on the islands of Nukuhiva (type locality of
ocista), Uahuka and Eiau (Fig. 1) has the tarsus feathered, while the
southern population on the islands of Uapu, Hivaoa, and 'Tahuata has
the tarsus bare. I fully agree with the opinion that the swiftlet from
Tahiti identified by Finsch (1877) as Collocalia cinerea (Gm.)
[=Collocalia cinerea Cassin] and named by Oberholser (1906) as
Collocalia thespesia is a junior synonym of Macropteryx leucophaeus
(now Collocalia leucophaea), described by Peale (1848) from the same
island.

The morphological characters summarized in Table 1 indicate that
the Marquesan Swiftlet Collocalia ocista Oberholser, 1906 should be
treated as a distinct species. I propose that the two Marquesan
populations are formally separated in two subspecies (Table 2). The
proposed alterations to the nomenclature of ocista, therefore, are as
follows:

S. Somadikarta 261 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)
141° 140° 139°

Hatutaa
°o

CP

Nukuhiva

Cal

a Fatuhuku

ie Mohotani
AS

Tahuata

QE CL GG
DELAN Das

Figure 1. Map of Marquesas Islands

Collocalia ocista ocista Oberholser

Collocalia ocista Oberholser, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 58,
1906, pp. 179 & 184: Nukuhiva Island, Marquesas Islands.

Holotype. USNM 212330, ad. 9, collected from Nukuhiva Is.,
Marquesas Islands by Ch. H. Townsend on 16 September 1899.

Measurements of the holotype (mm). Wing (chord) 117, outer tail
64.0, tail furcation 10.0, culmen, 5.0, tarsus 10.0.

Specimens examined (incl. the holotype). AMNH—63 specimens
(Nukuhiva Is.: 26 gg, 7 992, 10 unsexed; Uahuka Is.: 8 $d, 5 99, 1
unsexed; and Eaio Is.: 1 g, 229, 3 unsexed); BMNH—4 specimens
(Nukuhiva Is.: 1 g, 3 juvs.); MNHN—1 specimen (Nukuhiva Is.: 1
unsexed); USNM-—8 specimens (Nukuhiva Is.: 1 9, the holotype;
Uahuka Is.: 1 3, 3 99, 3 unsexed).

Description. The colour of the dorsal feathers is almost uniform
dusky brown, the rump 1s slightly lighter. Wings and tail are more

S. Somadikarta 262 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

TABLE 2
Wing & tail lengths, and tail furcation (in mm) of C. 0. ocista Oberholser and C. o.
gilliardi subsp. nov.

C. o. ocista C. o. gilliardi
n mean sdk n mean s.d.
Wing length 48 118.43 1.99 22 120.91 2.90
Tail length* 48 61.06 1.80 22 62.36 NSa/7/
Tail furcation** 48 9.41 1.34 2? 9.63 1.61

*=outer tail; **=(outer tail—inner tail) length

blackish. ‘The colour of ventral feathers is between drab and
olive-brown (col. nos. 27 & 28, Smithe 1975). The average wing length
(118.43 mm) is shorter, the tail length (61.06 mm) is longer, and the tail
furcation (9.41 mm) is deeper than those of leucophaea (Table 1). The
tarsus is feathered.

Range. Nukuhiva, Uahuka and Ejiao Is. (Marquesas Islands) north of
9° South latitude (Fig. 1).

Collocalia ocista gilliardi subsp. nov.

Holotype. AMNH 190163, ad. 3, collected from Hivaoa Island,
Marquesas Islands, by E. H. Quayle & R. H. Beck on 26 January 1921.

Measurements of the holotype (mm). Wing (chord) 125.0, outer tail
62.0, tail furcation 8.0, culmen 5.0, tarsus 9.5.

Specimens examined (incl. the holotype). AMNH—30 specimens
(Wapu Is.: 2, 0¢,.1..2;.2. unsexed:, Hivaoa Is.3.7, gg4.3 29; iiiunsexed:
and Tahuata Is.: 3 $4); and BMNH—1 specimen (Hivaoa Is.: 1 @).

Description. Similar to the nominate race, but tarsus is naked; the
average wing length (120.91 mm) and the average tail length (62.36) are
longer, and the tail furcation (9.63 mm) is slightly deeper (Table 2).

Range. Uapu Is., Hivaoa, Is., and Tahuata Is. (Marquesas Islands)
south of 9° South latitude. Probably it also occurs on Fatuiva Is.
(Fig. 1).

Etymology. | take pleasure in naming this new subspecies in honour
of my first teacher in ornithology, the late Dr. E. Thomas Gilliard, late
Curator of the Department of Ornithology, The American Museum of
Natural History.

Acknowledgements

I am deeply grateful to officials of the museums mentioned above who kindly allowed me
to study the specimens in their charge. Grants from the British Council, the Smithsonian
Institution, and UNESCO (ROSTSEA) are gratefully acknowledged. I am particularly
indebted to Derek Holmes and Mary LeCroy for their critical reviews of the manuscript.
The study on the taxonomy of the swiftlets has been partially carried out during my
tenure as U.S. National Research Council visiting Research Associate at the Division of
Birds of the Smithsonian Institution.

S. Somadikarta 263 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

References:

Berlioz, J. 1929. Les caractéres de la faune avienne de Polynésie. Ozseau 10: 581-590.

Brooke, R. K. 1970. Taxonomic and evolutionary notes on the subfamilies, tribes, genera
and subgenera of the swifts (Aves, Apodidae). Durban Mus. Novit. 9: 13-24.

Brooke, R. K. 1972. Generic limits in old world Apodidae and Hirundinidae. Bull. Brit.
Orn. Cl. 92: 53-57.

Dickinson, E. C. 1989a. A review of larger Philippines swiftlets of the genus Collocalia.
Forktail 4: 19-53.

Dickinson, E. C. 1989b. A review of smaller Philippines swiftlets of the genus Collocalia.
Forktail 5: 23-34.

Dickinson, E. C., Kennedy, R. S. & Parkes, K. C. 1991. The Birds of the Philippines.
B.O.U. Check-list no. 12. British Ornithologists’ Union.

Finsch, O. 1877. On a small collection of birds from the Marquesas Islands. Proc. Zool.
Soc. London: 407-410.

Fisher, A. K. & Wetmore, A. 1931. Report on birds collected by the Pinchot Expedition
of 1929 to the Caribbean and Pacific. Proc. U.S. Natl Mus. 79: 1-66, pls.

Holyoak, D. T. 1975. Les oiseaux des Iles Marquéses (suite et fin). Ozseau 45: 341-366.

Holyoak, D. T. & Thibault, J. C. 1978. Notes on the biology and systematics of
Polynesian swiftlets, Aerodramus. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 98: 59-65.

Mayr, E. 1937. Birds collected during the Whitney South Sea Expedition. 33. Notes on
New Guinea birds. 1. dm. Mus. Novit. no. 915.

Medway, Lord. 1966. Field characters as a guide to the specific relations of swiftlets.
Proc. Linnean Soc. London 177: 151-177.

Medway, Lord & Pye, J. D. 1977. Echolocation and the systematics of swiftlets.
Pp. 225-238 im B. Stonehouse & C. Perrins (eds), Evolutionary Ecology. Macmillan.

Oberholser, H. C. 1906. A monograph of the genus Collocalia. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci.
Philadelphia 58: 177-212.

Peale, T. R. 1848. Mammalia and ornithology. (In) United States Exploring Expedition:
during the years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842, under the command of Charles Wilkes,
U.S.N. vol. 8. C. Sherman (Printer), Philadelphia.

Peters, J. L. 1940. Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 4. Museum of Comparative
Zoology, Harvard.

Pratt, H. D. 1986. A review of the English and scientific nomenclature of cave swiftlets
(Aerodramus). Elepaio 46: 119-125.

Salomonsen, F. 1983. Revision of the Melanesian swiftlets (Apodes, Aves) and their
conspecific forms in the Indo-Australian and Polynesian Region. Biol. Skr. Vid.
Selesk. 23: 1-112.

Sibley, C. G. & Monroe, B. L., Jr. 1990. Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World.
Yale Univ. Press.

Smithe, F. B. 1975. Naturalist’s Color Guide. American Mus. Nat. Hist., New York.

Stresemann, E. 1925. Beitrage zur Ornithologie des indo-australischen Region. 1.
Bruchstiicke einer Revision der Salanganen (Collocalia). Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin 12:
179-189.

Address: Dr. S. Somadikarta, Faculty of Science & Mathematics, University of
Indonesia, Depok 16424, Indonesia. Corresponding address: Jalan Salak 12, Bogor
16151, Indonesia.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994.

S.L. Olson 264 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

Cranial osteology of ‘Tawny and Steppe Eagles
Aquila rapax and A. nipalensis

by Storrs L. Olson

Received 24 November 1993

Although the Tawny Eagle Aquila rapax and Steppe Eagle A. nipalensis
are now often treated as subspecies of a single species (A. rapax), Clark
(1992) recently presented a convincing analysis of plumage, external
morphology, distribution and habits, from which he concluded that
these are two very distinct species, as they were regarded by most
writers in the first half of this century and before.

One of the significant differences in the two species noted by Clark is
the greater width of the gape in A. nipalensis. With this in mind, I
thought it would be of interest to investigate to what degree the
underlying skull structure would reflect this difference and might
otherwise support Clark’s conclusion. Several skeletons of A. rapax
were immediately at hand but locating one of A. nipalensis proved
something of a task because the world inventory of avian skeletons
(Wood & Schnell 1986) includes both species under A. rapax. This
provides a good example of the manner in which information is only
lost by unsubstantiated lumping of species-level taxa.

After considerable correspondence, I was able to locate and examine
a single skull and mandible of A. nipalensis (UMMZ 215418), from an
individual taken in ‘Turkmenistan, on the eastern shore of the Caspian
Sea, which was compared with 5 individuals of A. rapax.

The skull in A. nipalensis is not only decidedly larger but also more
elongate, so that the interorbital bridge is proportionately narrower
than in A. rapax (Fig. 1). The bill is much more elongate and laterally
compressed in A. nipalensis. Presumably in accordance with this, the
maxillopalatines are larger and longer as well. The interorbital septum
in A. nipalensis is thick and impervious, whereas in A. rapax (and all
other specimens of Aquila examined) the septum is very thin and has a
large oval fenestra (Fig. 2). In lateral view, the braincase in A. nipalensis
is seen to be longer and the temporal fossa greatly enlarged relative to
that of A. rapax, so that M. adductor mandibulae is much more
extensive both anteroposteriorly and dorsally.

In dorsal view, the mandible (Fig. 1) of A. mipalensis 1s
correspondingly larger and longer than in A. rapax. Furthermore, the
rami are bowed in a very distinctive manner that must be responsible
for the differences in the gape of these two species noted by Clark.

The preceding differences in cranial osteology between A. rapax and
A. nipalensis fully corroborate Clark’s view that these are perfectly
distinct species. I know of no instance in which differences of this
magnitude occur in conspecific populations of Accipitridae. In fact, the
opposite is much more frequently the case—taxa that are universally
acknowledged to be good species may show very little difference in
cranial osteology.

S.L. Olson Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

Figure 1. Dorsal view of skulls (above) and mandibles (below): A, Aquila rapax (USNM
430406); B, Aquila nipalensis (UMMZ 215418).

The morphological and behavioral differences between A. rapax and
A. nipalensis were so impressive to Clark that he considered (pers.
comm.) that they might not even be particularly closely related. I found
one distinctive character shared by these two species, however, that
seems to indicate that they are indeed sister-species, as further

S.L. Olson 266 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

Figure 2. Right lateral view of skulls: A, Aquila rapax (USNM 430406); B, Aquila
nipalensis (UMMZ 215418). Note the unique lack of a fenestra (F) in the interorbital
septum of A. nipalensis. Among the forms of Aquila, the bridge of bone across the nostril
(n) occurs only in these two species.

suggested by certain plumage similarities, such as the identical tail
pattern in immatures. In the one specimen of A. nipalensis and all 5 of
A. rapax there was a broad, solidly ossified bridge of bone across the
nostril, dividing it into two smaller openings (Fig. 2). This condition
was not encountered in any of the 6 other species of Aquila available for
this study, although in 3 of 4 specimens of A. audax there were
irregular traces of ossification at the edges of the nostrils. This bridge
could well be present in a cartilaginous state in other species of Aquila,
and perhaps in other genera as well, but it never seems to ossify except
in A. rapax and A. mpalensis. Perhaps this character is not as
significant, however, as the complete lack of a fenestra in the
interorbital septum in A. nipalensis, in which respect it is unique in the
genus Aquila. Henceforth, the Steppe Eagle, Aquila nipalensis, should
unquestionably be given full specific rank.

Material examined. All skeletons of Aquila were from the collections
of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution,
except for 2 as mentioned in Acknowledgements. A. rapax, 5; A.
nipalensis, 1; A. gurneyi, 1; A. wahlbergi, 1; A. verreauxi, 1; A. fasciata,
1; A. audax, 4; A. chrysaetos, 20.

Acknowledgements

I thank Janet Hinshaw (University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Ann Arbor) for
lending a specimen of A. nipalensis, Janet K. Braun and Gary Schnell (Oklahoma

R.W. Dickerman et al. 267 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

Museum of Natural History, Norman) for a skeleton of A. rapax; and Robert Prys-Jones
for information regarding specimens in the British Museum (Tring). I am also grateful to
William S. Clark for discussions and information. The photographs are by Victor E.
Krantz, Smithsonian Institution.

References:

Clark, W. S. 1992. The taxonomy of Steppe and Tawny Eagles, with criteria for
separation of museum specimens and live eagles. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 112: 150-157.

Wood, D. S. & Schnell, G. D. 1986. Revised World Inventory of Avian Skeletal
Specimens, 1986. American Ornithologists’ Union and Oklahoma Biological Survey,
Norman, Oklahoma.

Address: Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History,
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, U.S.A.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994

Report on three collections of birds from

Liberia

by Robert W. Dickerman, W. Parker Cane, Michael F.
Carter, Angela Chapman & C. Gregory Schmitt

Received 20 November 1993

The American Museum of Natural History has recently received three
collections of birds made in Liberia. M. F. Carter collected in Bong,
Cape Mount and Sinoe Counties (1985-86); W. P. Cane, M. F. Carter
and R. W. Dickerman collected at Greenville, Sinoe County, Juarzon
[also Zuazhon on some maps], Sinoe Co. and on the Upper Dugbe
River (c.20km SSE of Jaoudi) and at Jaoudi Town, Grand Gedeh
County (1988); and M. F. Carter, A. Chapman, R. W. Dickerman and
C. G. Schmitt collected in the Wonigizi Mountains, Lofa County
(1990). Skeletons and liquid preserved (pickled) specimens formed
major elements in each of these collections. Frozen and alcohol
preserved tissues were collected in 1990.

Three notes have been published to date (Cane & Carter 1988,
Dickerman 1989, 1993), and two (noted in text) are in preparation or
are in press. We here report specimens that augment the distribution,
status or nomenclature of the respective species in Liberia as presented
by Urban et al. (1986), Colston & Curry-Lindahl (1986), Gatter (1988),
Fry et al. (1988, 1992) and Keith et al. (1992). In the text, British
Museum (Natural History) is abbreviated to BMNH,; type locality is
abbreviated to TL and ‘“‘western’’ refers to populations with ranges
west of the Dahomey forest gap. All Mount Nimba records are from
Colston & Curry-Lindahl (1986) and that reference is usually not
repeated. All measurements are in millimeters.

R. W. Dickerman et al. 268 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

LEMON DOVE Columba larvata subsp.

Two males collected in the Wonigizi Mountains in March 1990
represent the third locality record for the species in Liberia. The first
Liberian specimen was referred to the subspecies plumbescens (TL
Cameroon) by Peters (1937); the Mount Nimba specimens to szmplex
(TL Sao Tomé island) by Colston & Curry Lindahl (1986) and to
inornata (TL Mt. Cameroon) by Urban et al. (1986). The species is in
need of a thorough revision.

YELLOW-THROATED CUCKOO Chrysococcyx f. flavigularis

Gatter (1988) listed the species for Liberia and gave the symbols for
rare and rainforest, but the basis for his inclusion of the species on the
Liberian checklist is uncertain. An adult female with a soft-shelled egg
in the oviduct was taken 13 March 1990. This may be the first
specimen record for Liberia. A partial skeleton was saved. The
trinomial is used as the population east of the Dahomey forest gap is
being described (Dickerman 1994).

CINNAMON SCOPS OWL Otus 1. icterorhynchus

A single adult was taken in the Wonigizi Mountains, March 1990. It
was prepared as a ‘schmoo’ (study skin with no skeletal elements) and a
full skeleton. ‘The species was previously taken in Liberia at Mount
Nimba. The four specimens from Liberia range in colour from a
sandy-rufous to cinnamon, with one of the Mount Nimba specimens
nearly exactly matching the type (Ghana).

RED-CHESTED OWLET Glaucidium t. tephronotum

Three were taken in the Wonigizi Mountains in March 1990. The
species was previously collected in Liberia only at Mount Nimba. A
full skin and partial skeleton, a ‘schmoo’ and full skeleton and a pickled
specimen were saved.

LONG-TAILED NIGHTJAR Caprimulgus climacurus subsp.

The pale, buffy to sandy-buff coloured nominate form is a
widespread migrant throughout the region, apparently being more
common coastally. Carter took a specimen on the Lofa River, Cape
Mount County, 21 December 1985.

‘Two dark, sedentary, semi-sedentary or perhaps irregularly migrant
populations occupy the more humid belt of West Africa. C. c. leoninus
(TL Sierra Leone) is essentially dark grey and black dorsally, the
brown tones are dull, the breast band is dark grey-brown; it occurs in
the west, Sierra Leone to Southern Nigeria (Lagos). A specimen of
leoninus from Robertsport, Cape Mount Co., Liberia, 25 November
1889, is in the AMNH. The subspecies was not recognised by Fry et al.
(1988). C. c. sclateri (TL Cameroon) in contrast is dark, rich warm
brown and black dorsally, and has a rich brown neck band. It occurs in
Cameroon and adjacent Gabon. At least occasionally sclatert wanders
west to Sierra Leone (two specimens BMNH 1914.4.14.9 and
1966.16.112) and Liberia (the male from Mount Nimba). The other
two specimens reported from Mount Nimba are migrant climacurus.

R. W. Dickerman et al. 269 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

RED-HEADED DWARF KINGFISHER Ceyx (Ispidina) lecontet

The first two specimens from Liberia were from Mount Nimba. The
species is represented in the AMNH collections by four taken near the
Upper Dugbe River in April 1988, and eleven from the Wonigizi
Mountains in March 1990. A female taken 19 March had a soft-shelled
egg in the oviduct. Both skeletal and pickled material were preserved.

Dickerman (1993) demonstrated that the eastern and western
populations are distinct, differing in size, colour and pattern. The
names ruficeps (TL Ghana) and lecontez (‘TL Gabon) are available for
the two populations.

CHOCOLATE-BACKED KINGFISHER Halcyon badia

Subspecific taxa were not recognised in this species by Colston &
Curry-Lindahl (1986), Fry et al. (1988), nor Fry et al. (1992). The
characters assigned to budongensis (TL Bugoma Forest, Uganda) do not
seem to hold up; however, lopez, described on the basis of a single
specimen from “‘Sipopo, Fernando Po [=Bioko]’’ (Alexander 1903),
does seem to be valid. Amadon (1953) reported that a second specimen
of lopezi from Bioko had a “‘squarish-shaped wing speculum.‘ We also
note the wing converts are blacker than those of 26 of 33 specimens
from Cameroon eastwards, and that the speculum is paler and more
greenish blue than in 28, and the rump is paler than in 29 of those
specimens. We see no reason not to recognise the island population as
distinct.

Three specimens from Liberia in the AMNH were distinct from all
33 specimens from east of the Dahomey forest gap and thus further
comparisons were made in the BMNH. The western population is
indeed distinct, and may be known as

Halcyon badia obscuridorsalis subsp. nov.
Dickerman and Cane

Holotype. Female, AMNH 827464, 103 km north, 1 km east of Zigida
(or Ziggida), Lofa County, Liberia, elevation 560m, collected 10
March 1990, by Robert W. Dickerman; field number RWD 21094.

Diagnosis. Crown and upper back darker, deep Maroon (Color 31),
rather than Chestnut (Color 22) of Smithe (1974-1981); tertials almost
black.

Measurements of the type. Wing chord 92; tail 55; exposed culmen 40.

Etymology. The trinomial refers to the dark colour of the back.

Range. Forested regions west of the Dahomey forest gap.

Discussion. In comparisons made at the BMNH only 1 of 19 (5%) of
obscuridorsalis is sufficiently pale and reddish dorsally to be lost in the
series of eastern birds, while 2 of 55 (4%) eastern birds are dark enough
to fit comfortably in the series of obscuridorsalis. One specimen from
“Benin” [=Bendel?] Province, Nigeria, is typical of nominate badia,
while another from Omanelu, Rivers Province, is like badia on the
crown, but like obscuridorsalis on the lower back.

R. W. Dickerman et al. 270 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

Specimens examined. H. b. obscuridorsalis. Sierra Leone 2; Liberia 8;
Ghana 8. H. b. badia. Cameroon 17; Gabon 14; Zaire 20; ‘““Congo”’ 2:
Uganda 3.

MALACHITE KINGFISHER Corythornis (Alcedo) cristata galerita

The Mount Nimba report did not use a trinomial, while Fry ez al.
(1988) used galerita for all of Africa, except the populations of southern
Angola and southwestern Zambia south to the Cape of Good Hope.
Dickerman (1989) demonstrated that galerita should be restricted to
birds occurring west to the Dahomey forest gap. That usage was
followed by Fry et al. (1992).

COE’S HONEYGUIDE Melignomon eisentrauti

A female with an enlarged ovary (ova to 6mm) was taken in the
Wonigizi Mountains 16 March 1990. This is the second locality record
for Liberia. Although ‘‘Yellow-footed Honeyguide’’ is one of the
suggested names for this species, C. G. Schmitt, who prepared this
specimen, noted the tarsi and toes to be dark Cinnamon (Color 123A of
Smithe 1974-1981). This may indicate seasonal changes during laying
periods.

LEAST HONEYGUIDE Indicator exilis

‘Two specimens taken 9 and 12 March in the Wonigizi Mountains
contained enlarged ova. They represent the second record of the species
in Liberia.

Contra Colston & Curry-Lindahl (1986) and Short & Horne (1988),
these and the fine series from Mount Nimba are not the small, dark
nominate subspecies in which the wing chord of males averages 73.5
(Short & Horne 1988) but are larger with the wing chord of males
averaging 77.7 (Colston & Curry-Lindahl 1986), and they are paler.
They match the type and paratype of J. e. ansorget Bannerman,
described from Portuguese Guinea. However, that name has been
placed in I. willcockst by White (1965) and Short & Horne (1988). If
willcocksi is a valid species and not based on sub-definitive plumages of
extlis, then the Liberian populations of exzlis will need a new name.

SQUARE-TAILED ROUGHWING SWALLOW Psalidoprocne n. nitens
Three specimens taken in the Wonigizi Mountains in 1990 are the
second locality record of the species for Liberia.

YELLOW-THROATED BULBUL Criniger olivaceus

The species was reported for the first time in Liberia from the
Mount Nimba region; it was previously rare in collections. Four
specimens were taken along the Upper Dugbe River in April 1988, and
nine were taken in the Wonigizi Mountains in March 1990. The species
is apparently widespread and will probably be found whenever
mist-nets are used in rain forests in Liberia. Skeletons and pickled
specimens were preserved.

R. W. Dickerman et al. 271 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

GREY GROUND THRUSH Zoothera p. princei

This species, like the above, is probably far more common and
widespread than pre-Nimba studies indicated. Seven were taken at
Mount Nimba; one was taken at Jaoudi and 8 along the Dugbe River in
April 1988, and one was taken in the Wonigizi Mountains in March
1990. Skeletons and pickled specimens were preserved.

PALE-BREASTED THRUSH BABBLER Tichastoma rufipennis extrema

First reported in Liberia from Mount Nimba, the species is
apparently common and widespread in both virgin and second-growth
rainforests. Additional localities are: Dugbe River (15 specimens);
Jaoudi (3); and Wonigizi Mountains (39).

RUFOUS-WINGED THRUSH BABBLER Trichastoma rufescens

The species was described from ‘‘Liberia’’ without a specific locality,
and before the Nimba study, when 18 were collected, it was rare in
collections. Additional localities are: Jaoudi (2), Dugbe River (4) and
Wonigizi Mountains (16). The species is widespread and apparently
fairly common, occurring in both virgin and second-growth rainforests.
Skeletons and pickled specimens were preserved.

SEDGE WARBLER Acrocephalus schoenobaenus

A bird netted at Greenville, 25 March 1988, is apparently the first
specimen record for Liberia although Gatter (1988) considered it to be
fairly common.

WOOD WARBLER Phylloscopus sibilatrix

A female netted 21 March 1990 in virgin forest in the Wonigizi
Mountains is the second locality record for this species in Liberia. It
was previously taken at Mount Nimba.

YELLOW-BELLIED WATTLE-EYE Platysteira c. concreta

This species was first found in Liberia at Mount Nimba and was
common there. Carter took three specimens in northern Cape Mount
County in January 1986 and near Juarzon, Sinoe County in April 1986.
It was also common along the Dugbe River (12 specimens) and in the
Wonigizi Mountains (23).

DUSKY CRESTED FLYCATCHER Tyochocercus nigromitratus

Colston & Curry-Lindahl (1986) and Traylor (1986) both apparently
followed Chapin (1953) in not recognising subspecies in the Dusky
Crested Flycatcher. However, the large series now available from
Liberia is consistently distinct from the even larger series available
from Cameroon east to Kenya. The three names _ available:
nigromitratus Reichenow 1874 (Cameroon), kibaliensis Alexander 1905
(“Kibali River’ =Surugu or upper Uelle River, Zaire) and intensus
Gyldenstolpe 1922 (Semliki Valley, Kiva District, Zaire) all refer to the
eastern population.

First, the extent of sexual vs age dimorphism must be discussed. In
any series of specimens some individuals have essentially unicoloured

R.W. Dickerman et al. 272 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

greyish venters, while in others the belly region has a moderate amount
of whitish ‘underfeathers’ showing. Most specimens with unicoloured
venters (18 of 25, 72%) were males, while 11 of 19 (58%) of
whitish-bellied birds were females. The white-bellied males were
probably first-year birds, while the dark-bellied females may be older
birds. ‘Thus in making comparisons, dark-bellied birds were compared
with dark-bellied and light with light. There appears to be no (or
exceedingly little) colour change due to museum age within series from
a region. he western birds may now be known as

Trochocercus nigromitratus colstoni subsp. nov.
Dickerman

Holotype. Adult male, AMNH 827744, collected 1 km east, 12 km
north Zigida (or Ziggida), Lofa County, Liberia, on 13 March 1990 by
C. Gregory Schmitt; field number CGS 5240.

Diagnosis. Similar to nominate population but slightly paler and
brighter blue both dorsally and ventrally, less dull, flat dark grey. In
colstom there is a distinct tendency dorsally to have a white-tinged
collar. Although differences between individuals are subtle when two
specimens are compared, the differences when series are seen side by
side are dramatic.

Measurement of the type. Wing chord 60, tail 62 exposed culmen 11.

Etymology. It is a pleasure and appropriate to name this form for Mr
Peter R. Colston who prepared the bulk of the report on the large
collection from Mount Nimba in the BMNH, especially the
comprehensive tables of biometrics. Mr. Colston confirmed my
impression of the distinctness of the two populations.

Range. Specimens examined only from Liberia and southern Nigeria,
but probably occupies forested regions west of the Dahomey forest gap.

Specimens examined. T. n. colstoni: Liberia 29; Nigeria 1. T. n.
nigromitratus: Cameroon 30; Gabon 1; Congo 1; Zaire 9; Uganda 11;
Kenya 11.

RED-FRONTED ANT-PECKER Parmoptila rubrifrons

The alternate English name is amusing and worth recording, it is
longer than the bird: Red-fronted Flower-pecker Weaver-finch
(Mackworth-Praed & Grant 1973).

Two males taken in the Wonigizi Mountains in March 1990
comprise the third specimen record of the species in Liberia. A large
series was taken at Mount Nimba, and Michael F. Carter took two near
Jaoudi, Grand Gedeh County, in October 1986. Gatter (1988) gave
symbols indicating that it was rare to common in Liberia.

In West Africa, there are four named populations which Traylor
(1968) combined under the specific name woodhousei. Two of these,
woodhousei (1859) of Gabon to eastern Zaire, and ansorgei (1904) of
Uganda, are obviously conspecific. They are essentially “female-
plumaged’ and non-dimorphic (in juvenal or in definitive plumage), the
adult males differing only in having a red forehead.

R.W. Dickerman et al. 273 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

The other two exhibit strong dimorphism, the males (juvenile and
adult) being near chestnut ventrally, while the adult females (juveniles
have not been seen) are not dissimilar from woodhouset, but are ‘scaled’
rather than spotted ventrally. These two are: rubrifrons (1872) from
Ghana, and jamesoni (1890) described from ‘“‘Congo”’ and ranging from
Zaire east to western Uganda. Thus the ranges of the two dimorphic
populations are separated by the range of non-dimorphic woodhouset.
To date sympatry is not known among any of the forms. Until new
information becomes available, three species should be recognised.

If the dimorphic species are combined, Liberian birds cannot bear
either the name P. jamesoni rubrifrons as in Colston & Curry-Lindahl
(1986), or P. jamesoni as in Gatter (1988); they must take the older
name rubrifrons. It should be noted that Chapin (1953) used jamesoni
for the chestnut-bellied Congo birds, but he treated the three forms in
that region as full species.

Acknowledgements

We would like to express our gratitude for the guidance, help and friendship of Alexander
Peal, Head, Wildlife and National Parks of the Forest Development Authority, and to
Emmanuel Emeh, George C. Fully, Joseph Folly, and Theo Freeman, administrators
and staff of the FDA during the period of these studies for their support. The Liberians
who were vital to the success of these ventures are too numerous to mention. We hope
they all survived.

The senior author expresses his special thanks to his coauthors and to K. A. Ray and
M. K. Waddington for their help and companionship in the ‘bush’. The arrangements
made by Angela Chapman and Christopher P. Kofron prior to our arrival in Liberia
assured the success of this effort. Special gratitude is due to the curators and personnel of
the BMNH for access to that magnificent collection and for their many considerations.

Support for aspects of these studies was provided by: American Museum of Natural
History, National Geographic Society (grant 4250-90 to RWD), and the senior author.
M. F. Carter was a member of the Peace Corps in Liberia 1985-1986. Some of the
participants covered their own air travel expenses.

References:

Alexander, B. 1903. [comments by] Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 13: 33.

Amadon, D. 1953. Avian systematics and evolution in the Gulf of Guinea. Bull. Amer.
Mus. Nat. Hist. 100: 393-452.

Cane, W. P. & Carter, M. F. 1988. Significant range extension for Nectarinia
reichenbachu in West Africa. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 108: 52-54.

Chapin, J. P. 1953. The birds of the Belgian Congo. Part 3. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist.
75A.

Colston, P. R. & Curry-Lindahl, K. 1986. The Birds of Mount Nimba, Liberia. British
Museum (Natural History).

Dickerman, R. W. 1989. Notes on the Malachite Kingfisher Corythornis (Alcedo)
cristata. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 109: 158-159.

Dickerman, R. W. 1993. On the validity of Ceyx (Mioceyx) lecontei ruficeps. Bull. Brit.
Onn. CIO V132 255-2577

Dickerman, R. W. 1994 Notes on birds from Africa with descriptions of three new
subspecies. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 114: 274-278.

Fry, C. H., Fry, K. & Harris, A. 1992. Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers. Christopher
Helm and Princeton Univ. Press.

Fry, C. H., Keith, S. & Urban, E. K. (eds) 1988. The Birds of Africa. Vol. 3. Academic
Press.

Gatter, W. 1988. The birds of Liberia (West Africa). A preliminary list with status and
open questions. Verh. Orn. Ges. Bayern 24: 689-723.

R. W. Dickerman 274 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

Keith, S., Urban, E. K. & Fry, C. H. (eds) 1992. The Birds of Africa. Vol 4. Academic
Press.

Mackworth-Praed, C. W. & Grant, C. H. B. 1973. Birds of Central and Western Africa.
Longman.

Peters, J. L. 1937. Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol 20. Museum of Comparative
Zoology, Harvard.

Short, L. L. & Horne, J. F. M. 1988. Indicatoridae. Pp. 486-512 im Fry et al. (supra).

Smithe, F. B. 1974, 1975, 1981. Naturalist’s Color Guide. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist.

Traylor, M. A., Jr. 1986. [African Sylviidae] in E. Mayr & G. W. Cottrell (eds),
Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol 11. Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard.

Urban, E. K., Fry, C. H. & Keith, S. (eds) 1986. The Birds of Africa. Vol. 2. Academic
Press.

White, C. M. N. 1965. A Revised Check List of African Non Passerine Birds. Government
Printer, Lusaka, Zambia.

Address: Drs Robert W. Dickerman and W. Parker Cane, Department of Ornithology,
American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York,
NY 10024. Michael F. Carter, Colorado Bird Observatory, 13401 Piccadilly Road,
Brighton, Colorado 80601. Angela Chapman, Museum of Natural Science,
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803. C. Gregory Schmitt,
Department of Game and Fish, State Capitol, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504, U.S.A.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994

Notes on birds from Africa with descriptions
of three new subspecies

by Robert W. Dickerman
Received 20 November 1993

While identifying specimens in three collections from Liberia, recently
received by the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) (see
Dickerman et al. 1994), several problems became evident that affect the
nomenclature of species beyond the limits of Liberia. Unless noted, all
specimens examined were in the collections of the AMNH or British
Museum (Natural History) (BMNH). In the text, type locality in
abbreviated to TL, and “‘western’’ refers to populations with ranges
west of the Dahomey forest gap. All measurements are in millimeters.

BLUE-SPOTTED WOOD DOVE Turtur a. afer

No subspecies were recognised by Urban et al. (1986) nor by Colston
& Curry-Lindahl (1986). However mearnsi (TL Ethiopia) is definitely
paler and larger than nominate afer. The wing chord of 9 mearnsi (sexes
alike) measured 113-121 (mean 116.4, s.d. 2.1), while the wings of 10
West African afer (5 each sex) measured 101-110 (mean 106.9, s.d. 3.0).
Urban ez al. (1986) gave wing measurements for five males and five
females from South Africa as: 107-112 (109) and 109-112 (110)
respectively. It should be noted that an adult female from the highlands
of northern Cameroon (AMNH 415096) is both dark and large (wing
117), and perhaps represents an isolated population of larger birds.

R. W. Dickerman 275 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

YELLOW-THROATED CUCKOO Chrysococcyx flavigularis

The population west of the Dahomey forest gap is extremely poorly
represented in ornithological collections. Fry et al. (1988) wrote that
there were only 7 records west of Cameroon, some undoubtedly sight
records. The species was described from Ghana.

Comparisons were made among 17 specimens: 15 of the eastern
population (9 adult males, 2 juvenile or 1st basic plumaged males, and
6 females); and 2 females of the western population, the only specimens
available. These latter differed from the 4 eastern females and 2
female-plumaged males. The eastern (and apparently more common
population) may be named as

Chrysococcyx flavigularis parkesi subsp. nov.

Holotype. Adult female, LACM 70110, collected at Mongira in the
Bwamba Forest, western Uganda on 3 November 1968 by Andrew
Williams. Field number B155.

Diagnosis. Female and young males similar to nominate form, but
browner, less creamy-white ventrally, this especially obvious on
undertail coverts. No males of nominate form seen. Plate 5 in Fry et al.
(1988) illustrates the female plumage of parkesz.

Measurements of type. Wing chord 96; tail 65; exposed culmen 17.2.

Etymology. I name this cuckoo for my colleague, close friend and
severest critic, Dr. Kenneth C. Parkes of Carnegie Museum of Natural
History.

Range. Specimens examined only from Cameroon, Zaire and
Uganda, but probably occurs in forested regions east of the Dahomey
gap (see Fry et al. 1988: 85).

Specimens examined. C. f. flavigularis: Sierra Leone 1 F; Liberia 1 F.
C. f. parkest: Cameroon 1 ad.M, 2 imm.M, 2 F; Zaire 2 M, 1 F; Uganda
6 ad.M, 1 F.

WHITE-BELLIED KINGFISHER Alcedo leucogaster batesi

Fry et al. (1988, 1992) apparently combined the smaller birds, batesz,
(TL Bitye, Cameroon) of the mainland with the larger sized nominate
birds from Bioko (formerly Fernando Po). Chapin (1922), in describing
batesi, found only a single mainland bird to have as long a wing chord,
and none to have as deep bills as the 3 nominate specimens he had
available. Remeasuring some of the same specimens, but with the
added material from Bioko discussed by Amadon (1953), I found only
two of 17 (12%) batesi had the wing chord or two of 16 (13%) had bill
depth measurements as large as 8 leucogaster.

The first specimen of A. leucogaster from Tanzania is a dark-billed
immature (by ovary) female, AMNH 826002, that was remade from a
spirit specimen. It was taken 11 July 1987 by Kim M. Howell (field
no. 4036) in Minzoro Forest Reserve west of Lake Victoria, about
50 km northwest of Bukoba. It represents the subspecies leopoldi and
extends its range eastward into Tanzania.

Contra Fry et al. (1988), leopoldi is not paler in either its blue or its
red colours than leucogaster (sensu stricto), nor than batesi. It differs

R. W. Dickerman 276 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

from them in lacking a rufous (or vinaceous) superciliary, and in having
pale greenish-blue bars on the crown and nape in both adults and
young. And, contra Fry et al. (1992), only the two young leopoldi
(including the ‘Tanzania specimen) of the ten dark-billed immatures
seen to date have the “*... mantle spangled with [pale] blue’, a
character they ascribed to the juvenal plumage of the species. The other
eight young (2 bowdleri, 5 batesi, 1 leucogaster) have dark blue backs
similar to those of adults. The breast band of juveniles is a somewhat
paler rufous than in adults and it usually has a dusky wash.

BLUE-HEADED BEE-EATER Merops muelleri subsp.

Fry et al. (1988, 1992) stated that the sexes are alike. However, in
series in the AMNH and the BMNH, males (from throughout the
species’ range), while similar to each other, are readily distinguished
from most specimens labelled female. Males have more intense
colouration, brighter cinnamon backs, deeper blue venters and deeper
red throats. Males are somewhat larger than females.

Amadon (1953), in discussing the Bioko population, assumed that
“previous authors’’ were correct in not recognising marionis described
from “‘Bakaki, Fernando Po’’ (Alexander 1903) as distinct from the
mainland populations. ‘They were wrong. Island birds are larger,
especially in wing chord. With sexes combined, the measurements for
marionis (n=11) and mentalis (n=18), respectively, are: 85-92
(87.44+1.6) vs 81-85.5 (82.94+1.4) (range, mean and_ standard
deviation).

LITTLE GREEN BULBUL Pycnonotus virens

Rand (1960) apparently followed Amadon (1953) who considered the
population of P. virens on Bioko to be the same as the nominate
subspecies (TL Gabon) on the mainland. However, independent
comparisons of series from Bioko with mainland series in the AMNH
in 1988 and in the BMNH in 1993 show that the island population is
distinct and may be known as

Pycnonotus virens poensis subsp. nov.

Holotype. Adult male, AMNH 297652, collected at Basepu,
““Fernando Poo’’ (=Bioko), on 24 August 1929 by Jose G. Correia.

Diagnosis. Similar to nominate P. virens, but greener (less brown)
dorsally, and brighter yellow ventrally (although still a dull yellow).
These characters hold even when immature poensis are compared with
adult virens.

Measurements of the type. Wing chord 75.5; tail 70; exposed culmen
10.0.

Etymology. Named for the island previously called Fernando Po.

Discussion. Although, to the extent possible, specimens of approxi-
mately equal museum age were compared, it turned out that foxing is
slight in this species and does not override through time the subspecific
characters.

R. W. Dickerman De. Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

Specimens examined. P. v. poensis: Bioko 48 (1902-1929). P. v. virens:
Gabon 20 (1896-1957); Cameroon 81 (1905-1955); Zaire 29
(1909-1954); Angola 10 (1903-1906).

WHITE-CROWNED FOREST ROBIN Fraseria (Malaenornis ) cinerascens

Two names are available within this species: cinerascens Hartlaub
1857 (TL Ghana) and guineae Bannerman (TL Portuguese Guinea).
There are two distinct populations within this species, one pale and
western, one dark and eastern, with the Dahomey forest gap separating
the two. When Bannerman described guineae, apparently he used
specimens from Cameroon and the “‘Congo”’ to represent cinerascens as
those were, at that time, the material available in the BMNH closest to
Ghana. He obviously believed cimerascens to represent the darker
population; however he created a junior synonym of that name and the
eastern, darker population is still without a name. It may now be
known as

Fraseria (Melaenornis) cinerascens ruthae subsp. nov.

Holotype. Adult female, AMNH 764721, collected at Mabali,
Tumba, “B.C.” (=Zaire), on 9 November 1954 by James P. and
Ruth T. Chapin. Field number 421.

Diagnosis. Dorsally much darker than cinerascens, being between
Blue Black (Color 90) and Blackish Neutral Gray (Color 82) rather than
near Indigo (Color 73) (Smithe 1974-1981). Head darker than back.
Feathers of breast band strongly (vs weakly) edged with sooty black.

Measurements of type. Wing chord 60, tail 74.5, exposed culmen 13.

Etymology. Named in honour of Ruth Trimble Chapin.

Range. Forests east of the Dahomey forest gap, east to Zaire.

Specimens examined. F. c. cinerascens: Portuguese Guinea 3
(including type); Sierra Leone 6; Liberia 8; Niger 1; Nigeria 2. F. c.
ruthae: Cameroon 16; Gabon 14; Zaire 4.

Acknowledgements

Field work in Liberia was conducted with the help and guidance of Wildlife and National
Parks of the Forest Development Authority (see Dickerman et al. 1994). To Dr. Robert
Prys-Jones, and Messrs Peter R. Colston, Michael P. Walters and Mark P. Adams at the
British Museum (Natural History) the author expresses special thanks for their
unstinting cooperation.

References:

Alexander, B. 1903 [comments by]. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 13: 33.

Amadon, D. 1953. Avian systematics and evolution in the Gulf of Guinea. Bull. Amer.
Mus. Nat. Hist. 100: 393-452.

Chapin, J. P. 1922. On the representatives of Corythornis leucogaster (Fraser) in the
Cameroon and the Congo. Ibis (11) 4: 440-445.

Colston, P. R. & Curry-Lindahl, K. 1986. The Birds of Mount Nimba, Liberia. British
Museum (Natural History).

Dickerman, R. W., Cane, W. P., Carter, M. F., Chapman, A. & Schmitt, C. G. 1994.
Report on three collections of birds from Liberia. Bull Brit. Orn. Cl. 114: 267-274.

Fry, C. H., Fry, K. & Harris, A. 1992. Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers. Christopher
Helm and Princeton Univ. Press.

In Brief 278 Bull B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

Fry, C. H., Keith, S. & Urban, E. K. (eds) 1988. The Birds of Africa. Vol. 3. Academic
Press.

Rand, A. L. 1960. Pycnonotidae (African) ix E. Mayr & J. C. Greenway, Jr. (eds),
Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 11. Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard.

Smithe, F. B. 1974, 1975, 1981. Naturalist’s Color Guide. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist.

Urban, E. K., Fry, C. H. & Keith, S. (eds) 1986. The Birds of Africa. Vol. 2. Academic
Press.

Address: Dr. Robert W. Dickerman, Department of Ornithology, American Museum of
Natural History, 79th Street at Central Park West, New York, N.Y. 10024, U.S.A.

© British Ornithologists’ Club 1994

IN BRIEF

THE TYPE-LOCALITY OF NECTARINIA SENEGALENSIS GUTTURALIS
(LINNAEUS), 1766

The wide-ranging Scarlet-chested Sunbird Nectarinia senegalensis
(Linnaeus) is a savanna woodland species, which extends from far West
Africa east to Ethiopia, ranging southeast of the Lower Guinea
rainforest to northern and central Namibia in the west and to Natal and
Zululand in the east. Rand, in Peters’ Check-list (1967), recognized six
subspecies, but the precise total is actually greater, as he synonymized
at least two valid races, N. s. inaestimata (Hartert), 1899, from coastal
Tanzania, and N. s. saturatior (Reichenow), 1891, from Angola, with
the southeastern terminal race N. s. gutturalis (Linnaeus), 1766, the
type-locality of which will be considered below.

Certhia gutturalis Linnaeus, 1766, is based on a reference of Brisson,
1760, the original material believed to emanate from “Brasilia”’
(=Brazil), then a major Portuguese colony. As demonstrated by
Vincent (1935), Brazil continued to be seen as the provenance of the
material upon which gutturalis was founded for the remainder of the
Eighteenth Century, until corrected by Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. viii,
1812, p. 255, to southern Africa. Levaillant, Hist. Nat. ‘O1s: d’Afr.;
vol. vi, 1808, p. 165, who through the course of his southern African
travels between 1781 and 1784 at no time operated within the
established range of N. senegalensis, referred to the species as ‘La
Caffrerie”’, apparently on Dutch settler hearsay and through his close
association with C. J. Temminck and the Leiden Museum. The
Levaillant reference seemingly influenced Vincent (1935, Bull. Brit.
Orn. Cl. 55: 97) to select the southeastern Cape Province as a restricted
type-locality for gutturalis. This was not a good choice, however, as the
eastern Cape was only opened up to the collecting of natural history
specimens from about the time of A. Sparrman, who reached as far east
as the Great Fish River during his southern African travels of c.
1772-1776. Later, Dr W. J. Burchell, who followed Levaillant in
studying the southern African arid zone biota, collected extensively in
the Cape between 1811 and 1815, to be followed in turn by Dr Andrew
Smith between 1821 and 1837. None of these students turned up the
Scarlet-chested Sunbird in the Cape Province. Reichenow (1905, Végel
Afrikas, vol.3) lists no Cape records, and indicated that the

Books Received 279 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

southeastern range limits of gutturalis are in Natal, with listed
occurrences from Durban, Pinetown, Pietermaritzburg, Eshowe,
Ulundi and Lake St Lucia, where it still occurs. The currently accepted
type-locality of N. s. gutturalis therefore lies some six to seven hundred
miles (966-1127 km) to the southwest of the apex of the actual range,
and requires to be adjusted to conform with it and such historical
evidence as is available.

The Brazilian source of the basic Brissonian reference (Ornith.,
vol. ii, 1760, p.658, pl. 33, fig.3), adopted by Linnaeus in the
formulation of his Certhia gutturalis, indicates a possible Portuguese
origin. Study of the relevant map in Hall & Moreau (1970, Atlas of
Speciation in African Passerine Birds) shows that Nectarinia senegalensis
in the southern aspects of its range is centred in the west along the
Angolan coast and in the east from the region of Maputo in southern
Mozambique south as far as Durban, Natal. Both regions were focal
points as victualling stations (Luanda in the west and Delagoa Bay in
the east) for shipping plying the Portuguese slave and spice trade routes
during the Eighteenth Century. By mid-century there was also a
lucrative market in western Europe for natural history specimens,
including colourful tropical birds.

Either Angola or southern Mozambique requires to be seen as a
possible type-locality for N. s. gutturalis, and in order to avoid
disturbing the current subspecific taxonomy of the species, the choice
of a Mozambique locality seems desirable. I therefore propose that the
type-locality be adjusted on the basis of the above argument to the
Maputo district, southern Mozambique, where the Scarlet-chested
Sunbird is a relatively common species.

Durban Natural Science Museum, P. A. CLANCEY
P.O. Box 4085,

Durban 4001,

South Africa. 12 October 1993

BOOKS RECEIVED

Jenni, L. & Winkler, R. 1994. Moult and Ageing of European Passerines. Pp. x+225, 652
figures. Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-384150-X. £40.00. 32 x 24 cm.

This is a most unusual book. Written by two Swiss ornithologists with extensive
experience of systematic examination of birds caught at ringing stations, it is far the most
complete account of the moult of most of the breeding species of passerines of central and
northern Europe. The text is in two parts. Part 1 deals with moult strategies and the
sequence of moult, and is particularly outstanding in its detailed treatment of partial and
postjuvenile moults (which have tended to be treated rather sketchily in earlier accounts).
Part 2 consists of species accounts, covering 58 species from nearly all the European
passerine families. The detailed text, in both parts, is supported by a large number of
clear schematic figures (of wing, tail, seasonal progress of moult etc.) and also—and this
is the most obviously attractive feature of the book—by nearly 500 beautifully reproduced
colour photographs of spread wings, several for each species, illustrating differences
related to age, sex, and degree of wear of the feathers. These photographs, taken by a
special method developed by Thomas Degen, constitute a unique documentation and will
be invaluable for all European ringers and other ornithologists with an interest in

Books Received 280 Bull. B.O.C. 1994 114(4)

plumage and especially in the ageing of birds in the hand. The book is produced to a high
standard in a large format necessary to do justice to the photographs, and may confidently
be predicted to become an essential part of every serious ringer’s equipment.

Marchant, S. & Higgins, P. J. (eds) 1993. Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and
Antarctic Birds. Vol. 2. Raptors to Lapwings. Pp. 984, 68 colour plates, distribution
maps, text-figs. ISBN 0 19 553069 1. Oxford University Press, Melbourne. £150.00.
27 x 19 cm.

For a review of volume 1 of this important work, see Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 111: 175. In
the Introduction to volume 2 (although published in 1993 not received for review until
July 1994), the editors express their disappointment that so few critical reviews have
appeared in the three years since volume | appeared. Surprisingly, at the time of their
writing it seemed that no review at all had appeared in America. As far as the lack of
critical comments on volume 1 is concerned, at least part of the reason may be that
HANZAB, having benefited from the lessons learnt during the preparation of its
predecessor, BWP, was generally excellent in content and in presentation and gave little
scope for either nit-picking or constructive criticism.

In contrast to the many Antarctic species included in volume 1, this second volume has
only two, the sheathbills. The treatment of species is the same, the text, though
voluminous, clearly laid out with conspicuous headings and sub-headings and bold type,
where needed, to indicate subdivisions of text within paragraphs. Two minor criticisms
may be made, of presentation rather than content. The many sonagrams are shown on a
rather heavy red lattice of 1 kHz intervals on the vertical scale and half-second intervals
on the horizontal scale; the sonagrams themselves are grey, in many cases faint and far
less conspicuous than the superimposed lattice. The sonagrams in BWP, printed larger
and with a finer, less conspicuous lattice, are more satisfactory—except that a few of them
in one volume were so faint that they had to be reprinted in a supplement. Sonagrams are
evidently something of a headache for publishers of handbooks; many readers pay no
regard to them, but for others they are essential and constitute a valuable baseline and
stimulus for further research. A second minor criticism: breeding seasons are clearly
summarised in the text, and the linear diagrams, showing months of egg-laying, merely
repeat the text without adding anything; they could be dispensed with. A similar criticism
could be made of the circular annual cycle diagrams in BWP, which have the added
disadvantage of being hard to decipher.

These niggles apart, one can only be impressed by the immense amount of carefully
compiled and clearly presented data, as well as by the superb series of 68 colour plates,
most of which are by J. N. Davies, and some by P. Marsack, F. Knight and B. Jarrett.
Reviewers’ usual concluding remark, summing up such a book, that it will remain a major
reference work for many years, is almost too obvious to be worth repeating.

Knox, A. G. & Walters, M. P. 1994. Extinct and Endangered Birds in the Collections of the
Natural History Museum. British Ornithologists’ Club Occasional Publications No. 1.
Pp. 292. ISBN 0 9522886 0 5. £30.00, including packing and postage; obtainable from
the Hon. Treasurer, Hammerkop, Frogmill, Hurley, Maidenhead, Berks SL6 5NL.
24 x 17 cm.

Almost as much as it is a duty for museums to publish catalogues of their type
specimens, it is highly desirable that they publish annotated lists of their specimens of
extinct and endangered birds. This important compilation was therefore a suitable choice
for the first in the Club’s new series of occasional publications; and it may be hoped that
similar publications will follow for other major bird collections. The main text is
preceded by a useful 17-page tabular summary of the taxa that are dealt with. For their
list of endangered species or subspecies, the authors have used as their main basis, with
modifications as necessary in the light of subsequent knowledge, the taxa categorised as
endangered by King (1978-79; Red Data Book, Aves) and Collar & Stewart (1985,
Threatened Birds of Africa and Related Islands). For each specimen, the following
information is given: registered number; locality; date of collecting; source (i.e. collector,
former collection from which obtained); nature of the specimen (skin, skeleton etc.) and
its condition.

In soft covers but sturdily made and handsomely printed, this will be an essential
source of data for museum curators, avian taxonomists, and conservationists.

BULLETIN
of the

BRITISH
ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB

EDITED BY

Dr D. W. SNOW

Volume 114
1994

ul

OFFICERS OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB

P. L. SCLATER

Lord ROTHSCHILD

W. L. ScCLATER

H. F. WITHERBY

Dr P. R. Lowe

Maj. S. S. FLOWER

Dr D. A. BANNERMAN

G. M. MatTHews

Dr A. LANDSBOROUGH
‘THOMSON

D. SETH-SMITH

Dr J. M. Harrison

Sir PHitiep Manson-BAHR

Col. R. MEINERTZHAGEN

Lord ROTHSCHILD

W. L. SCLATER

H. F. WITHERBY

G. M. MatHews

N. B. KINNEAR

H. WHISTLER

D. SETH-SMITH

Col. R. Sparrow

Dr G. CARMICHAEL Low
Hon. Guy CHARTERIS

W. L. SCLATER

Dr D. A. BANNERMAN
Capt. C. H. B. Grant

B. W. 'TucKER

F. J. F. BaRRINGTON

Dr E. Hopkinson

C. W. MackworTH-PRAED
Dr J. M. Harrison

Sir PuHitip MaNSON-BaHR
B. G. Harrison

R. BOWDLER-SHARPE

W. R. OGILVIE-GRANT
Dr D. A. BANNERMAN
D. SETH-SMITH

Dr P. R. Lowe

N. B. KINNEAR

Dr G. CarmicHaEL Low
Capt. C. H. B. Grant
Dr G. CarmicHaEL Low

PAST AND PRESENT

Chairmen

1892-1913
1913-1918
1918-1924
1924—1927
1927-1930
1930-1932
1932-1935
1935-1938

1938-1943
1943-1946
1946-1950
1950-1953
1953-1956

C. W. MackwortTH-PRAED

Capt. C. R. S. Pirman

May.-Gen. C. B.
WAINWRIGHT

R. S. R. Firrer

Dr J. F. Monk

Sir HuGuH ELviorr

J. H. ELGoop

P. Hoce

D. R. CALDER

B. Gray

Revd G. Kk. McCuLtocu

R. E. F. Pear

D. GRIFFIN

Vice-Chairmen

1930-1931 Lt.-Col. W. P. C. TENISON

1931-1932 Miss E. M. GopMAN

1932-1933 Col. R. MEINERTZHAGEN

1933-1934 Maj. A. G. L. SLADEN

1934-1935 Col. R. MEINERTZHAGEN

1935-1936 E. M. NicHoLson

1936-1937 = Capt. C. R. S. Prrman

1937-1938 Mrs B. P. Haru

1938-1939 R.S.R. FITTER

1938-1939 Dr J. F. Monk

1939-1940 Sir HuGuH ELLiotr

1939-1940 J. H. ELcoop

1940-1943 P. Hoce

1940-1943 Dr G. BEvAN

1943-1945 B. Gray

1943-1945 Revd G. K. McCuLLocu

1945-1946 D. GRIFFIN

1945-1946 J. H. Etcoop

1946-1947 D. GRIFFIN

1946-1947 Revd 'T. W. GLapWINn
Editors

1892-1904 Lt.-Col. W. P. C. TENISON

1904-1914 Capt. C. H. B. Grant

1914-1915 Dr J. G. Harrison

1915-1920 J. J. YEALLAND

1920-1925 CC. W. BENSON

1925-1930 Sir HuGu ELiiotr

1930-1935 Dr J. F. Monk

1935-1940 Dr D. W. Snow

1940-1945

Honorary Secretaries and Treasurers

Howarpb SAUNDERS

W. E. DE WINTON

H. F. WITHERBY

Dr P. R. Lowe

C. G. TaLBot-PONSONBY
Dr D. A. BANNERMAN

1892-1899
1899-1904
1904-1914
1914-1915
1915-1918
1918-1919

Dr PuiLie GossE

J. L. BONHOTE

C. W. MackworTH-PRAED
Dr G. CarRMICHAEL LOW
C. W. MackworTH-PRAED

1956-1959
1959-1962

1962-1965
1965-1968
1968-1971
1971-1974
1974-1977
1977-1980
1980-1983
1983-1986
1986-1989
1989-1993
1993—

1947-1948
1947-1948
1948-1949
1948-1949
1949-1953
1953-1956
1956-1959
1959-1962
1962-1965
1965-1968
1968-1971
1971-1974
1974-1977
1977-1980
1980-1983
1983-1986
1986-1989
1989-1990
1990-1993
1993-

1945-1947
1947-1952
1952-1961
1962-1969
1969-1974
1974-1975
1976-1990
1991-

1919-1920
1920-1922
1922-1923
1923-1929
1929-1935

il

Honorary Secretaries

Dr A. LANDSBOROUGH N. J. P. WaDLEY 1950-1960

‘THOMSON 1935-1938 Miss E. ForsTER 1960-1962
C. R. STONER 1938-1940 Dr J. G. Harrison 1962-1964
N. B. KINNEAR 1940-1943 C. J. O. Harrison 1964-1965
Dr G. CARMICHAEL Low 1943-1945 M. W. Woopcock 1965-1969
Lt.-Col. W. P. C. TENISON 1945-1947 D.R. CaLpErR 1969-1971
Capt. C. H. B. Grant 1947 REA Rep REAL 1971-1989
W. E. GLEGG 1947-1949 Mrs A. M. Moore 1989-
Miss G. M. RHODES 1950

Honorary Treasurers

C. W. MacKworTH-PRAED 1935-1936 P. TaTE 1962-1974
Maj. A. G. L. SLADEN 1936-1942 M. Sr. J. Suce 1974-1978
Miss E. P. Leacu 1942-1949 Mrs D. M. BrapLey 1978-1990
C. N. WALTER 1950-1962 S.J. FarNsworTH 1990-
COMMITTEE
Elected 24 May 1994
G. GRIFFIN, m.a. Chairman (1993) Reverend T. W. GLADWIN
Dr D. W. SNOW Editor (1991) Vice-Chairman (1993)
Mrs A. M. MOORE Hon. Secretary S. J. FARNSWORTH Hon. Treasurer
(1989) (1990)
Dr R. A. CHEKE (1991) Dr J. F. MONK (1991)
R. E. F. PEAL (1993) Miss H. BAKER (1994)

CHANGES IN MEMBERSHIP 1994
New Members

G. Alexander J. O. Gjershang F. Mesquida D. F. Stotz
CP. Bell G. E. Green S. W. Oldfield D. M. Troy
R. O. Bierregaard K. J. Herber D. F. Parmelee H.-Y. Tsai

I. R. Bishop A. S. Helbig S. Parry J. S. Vilarasau
R. Bradley S. Howell M. A. Patten G. Watola

T. C. Bucher R. G. A. Leman C. Powell R. E. Webster
C. H. B. Eastwood W.-Y. Lin J. Rappole D. A. Wiggins
5. D: Eccles C. A. Marantz L. M. Reino D. E. Wynn
P. J. Fullagar R. S. Marrus J. Sterling

Resignations in respect of 1994
C. D. Bradshaw, I. H. Dillingham, B. G. Hanson, V. S. Harley, W. A. Layton,
G. Nikolaus, A. B. Old, B. J. Sharp, Mrs G. M. B. Sparks, Miss C. Talbot-Kelly.

Removed from membership under Rule (7)

P. M. Bain, J. J. Bowley, J. A. Burton, A. P. E. Cain, C. F. Carpenter, M. Craig, J. H.
Elphick, M. Gochfeld, D. R. Hewitson, A. Johnston, L., Lamothe, Y. Lemauviel,
A. H. Magnusson, J. W. W. Metcalfe, S. J. Oyler, M. de Schutter Bart.

iv

BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB
LIST OF MEMBERS

paid up at 31 December 1994

As the Bulletin is posted regularly to the addresses in this List of Members the Honorary
‘Treasurer should be notified immediately of any change or correction.
Where no other country is named the address given is in the United Kingdom.

1986 Apcock, M. A.; ‘‘The Saltings’’, 53 Victoria Drive, Great Wakering, SOUTHEND-ON-SEA, Essex SS3 0AT

1983 AcuILLo Cano, I. F.; Apartado 129, 26200 Haro (La Rioja), Spain

1984 AtpLey, Dr D. J.; The Old Woolpack, Morley St. Botolph, wymMonpHaM, Norfolk NR18 9AA

1988 AvsertTI, P.; Via B Cellini 10, 21052 Busto arsizio, Italy

1994 ALEXANDER, G.; 6 Arliss Road, Maybush, sourHAMPTON SO1 6DG

1980 Auuison, R.; The Laurels, Manchester Road, Sway, LYMINGTON, Hants SO4 0AS

1989 ALLPport, G.; 29 Mill Road, over, Cambridge CB4 5PY

1993 Austrom, P.; Kungsgatan 3, 462 33 vANERSBORG, Sweden

1978 ALTMAN, Dr A. B.; PO Box 441, GREAT BARRINGTON, MA 01230-0441, USA

1980 Amapon, Dr D.; American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th St, New york, NY 10024,
USA

1990 ANDERTON, W. N.; 16 Skipton Road, Embsay, skrpron, N. Yorkshire BD23 6QL

1983 Anpbrew, P.; PO Box 153, NorTH SYDNEY, NSW 2060, Australia

1980 AnTRAM, F. B. S.; PO Box 340, Belconnen, CANBERRA 2616, Australia

1976 Arita IcHIRO; 23 ban 1go 5F, Minami Aoyama 4+ chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107, Japan

1986 Arvott, N. A.; Hill House, School Road, TILNEY ST LAWRENCE, Norfolk PE34 4+RB

1978 Asn, Dr J. S.; Godshill Wood, FORDINGBRIDGE, Hants SP6 2LR

1981 AsPINWALL, Dr D. R.; PO Box 50653, RIpGEWay 15101, Zambia

1969 Backuurst, G. C.; PO Box 15194, NAIROBI, Kenya

1985 Baker, Mrs E. M.; PO Box 23404, DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania
1986 Baker, Miss H.; 27 Pheasants Way, RICKMANSWoRTH, Herts WD3 2EX (Committee 1994-)
1986 Baker, N. E.; Aquila Engineering Services, PO Box 23404, DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania

1991 BaLEN, S. van; PO Box 47, BoGcor 16001, Indonesia

1951 BarLow, Capt. Sir THomas, Bt., D.S.C., R.N.; 45 Shepherds Hill, Highgate, LONDON N6

1992 Barritt, M. K.; Spring House, Claypits Farm, Oppottery, HONITON, Devon EX14 9QP

1989 Bates, J. M.; Dept of Ornithology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th St,
NEW YoRK, NY 10024, USA

1992 BAUMANN, 5.; Gut Nettelau 13A, D-24601, sroLpr, Germany

1987 Bayuis, A. H.; 135 Fairbridge Road, LONDON N19 3HF

1985 BrEAKBANE, Mrs A. J.; 26 Cathcart Road, LONDON SW10 9NN

1979 Beaman, M. A. S.; Two Jays, Kemple End, Birdy Brows, sroNyHuRST, Lancs BB6 9QY

1989 Beck, B. H.; 25 St Thomas, West Parade, BEXHILL ON SEA, E Sussex TN39 3YA

1976 Beckine, J. H.; Ericalaan 7, 6703 EM waGeENINGEN, Netherlands

1982 BrecrortT, R.; Fen Cottage, Fen Lane, Creeting St Mary, Ipswicu, Suffolk IP6 8QE

1994 Bett, C. P.; 1 Clanricarde Gardens, Notting Hill Gate, LONDON W2 4JJ

1976 BeLman, P. J.; Number Two, School Passage, souUrHALL, Middx UB1 2DR

1966 BENNETT, P.; 29 Loop Road South, WHITEHAVEN, Cumbria

1993 BEREZANTSEVA, Dr M.; 34 Malyi Av. P.s. Apt 36, st PETERSBURG 197110, Russia

1979 Berton, K. F.; 8 Duke’s Close, Folley Hill, FARNHAM, Surrey GU9 ODK (Committee 1985-1988)

1994 BieRREGAARD, Dr R. O.; Biology Dept, University of N. Carolina, cHaRLoTTE, NC28223, USA

1986 BINDEMAN, Mrs J.; +1 Lovett Road, Byfield, DAavENTRY, Northants NN11 6XF

1994 Bisuop, I. R.; Walter Rothschild Zoological Museum, Akeman St., TRING, Herts HP23 6AP

1982 BisHop, K. D.; Semioptera, Lot 15, Kerns Road, kINCUMBER, NSW 2250, Australia

1980 Bison, P. W.; C Springerstraat 11-II, 1073 LD amsterpam, Netherlands

1985 Bock, Prof. W. J., Ph. D.; Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, NEW yoRK, NY 10027,

USA ~
1991 BonFIELD, C. L.; Yew Tree Cottage, Great Easton, pUNMow, Essex CM6 2HQ ;
1958 Bootu, Major B. D. McDona tp; Fonthill Lodge, Hinden Lane, TisBurRy, Wilts SP3 6PX
1986 BoreLLo, Mrs W. D.; PO Box 603, GABORONE, Botswana

1966 Boswa 1, J. H. R.; Birdswell, Wraxall, Brisror BS19 1JZ (Committee 1973-1976)

1956-70, 1984 Bourne, Dr W. R. P.; 3 Contlaw Place, Milltimber, ABERDEEN AB1 0DS

1993 Brace, Dr R. C.; Dept of Life Science, Nottingham University, University Park, NorrINGHAM NC7 2RD

1953 BrapLey, Mrs D. M.; 6 Ariel Court, Ashchurch Park Villas, LONDON W129SR (Committee 1968-1972,
1975-1978, Hon. Treasurer 1978-1989)

1985 Brap ey, Mrs P. E.; Box 907, Crand Cayman, CAYMAN ISLANDS, British West Indies

1994 Brapbtey, R.; 24 Kingston Avenue, BLACKPOOL, Lancs FY4 2QA

1990 BrapsHaw, C. G.; 6 Collet Walk, Parkwood, GILLINGHAM, Kent ME8 9QL

1989 Briccs, Dr K. B.; 2 Osborne Road, FaRNBOROUGH, Hants GU14 6PT

1966 Britton, P. L.; All Souls’ and St Gabriel’s School, PO Box 235, CHARTER TOWERS, Queensland 4820,
Australia

1987 Broap, D.; 15 Cotsford Avenue, NEW MALDEN, Surrey KT3 5EU

1987 Brown, S. P.; 7 Bartle Place, Ashton, PRESTON, Lancs PR2 1LS

1979 Browne, P. W. P.; 116 Chrichton Street, orrawa, Ontario, Canada K1M 1V8

1981 Bryant, Dr D. M.; Dept of Biology, University of Stirling, strrLING FK9 4LA

1994 Bucuer, Dr T. C.; 5405 Topeka Dr., TARzANa, CA 91356, USA

1991 BuCKNELL, N. J.; 7 Pound Cottages, Wallingford Road, Streatley, READING, RG8 9JH

1976 Butt, Dr J.; 1148 Virginia St, Fak Rockaway, NY 11691, USA

1989 Butt, P. J.; 35 Melbury Avenue, NoRWooD GREEN, Middx UB2 4HS

1963
1976

1988
1963

1977
1981
1982
1970

1971

1986
1979
1993
1986
1988

1973
1963
1980
1987
1977
1985
1938

1985
1989
1992
1989
1986
1987
1979
1976
1986
1981
1984
1991
1961
1979
1980
1975
1986
1984
1973
1986
1981
1991
1986
1989
1978

1958
1946
1980

1988
1991
1988
1986
1986
1983
1986
1973

1985
1975
1990
1987
1986
1985
1970
1978
1984
1974
1965
1952
1962
1936

1986
1994

V:

Burton, Dr P. J. K.; High Kelton, Doctors Commons Road, BERKHAMSTEAD, Herts HP4 3DW
Bynon, Dr J.; Lippitt’s End, Mott Street, High Beach, LouGHToN, Essex 1G10 4+AP

Casort, J.; Pabellon del Peru, Avda Maria Luisa S/N, 41013 seviLLe, Spain

Caper, D. R.; Melrose House, Ridgway, pyRFoRD, Surrey GU22 8PN (Committee 1967-1969, 1984-1987,
Hon. Secretary 1969-1971, Chairman 1980-1983)

CarsWELL, Dr M.; 38 Park Avenue, ORPINGTON, Kent

Carter, A. G. T.; 10 Eversleigh, Buckingham Close, GUILDFoRD, Surrey GU1 1TR

CarTER, C.; PO Box 50246, WATERFRONT “8002, South Africa

CartHy, D. P.; Data Processing Unit, Dept of Dentistry, University of Hong Kong, 34 Hospital Road, Hong
Kong

CasEMENT Cdr M. B., O.B-E., R.N.; Dene Cottage, West Harting, PETERSFIELD, Hants GU31 5PA (Committee
1990-1994)

CaTTaNeEo, G.; Via Mussatti 2, 10080 Rivara CAM (rorrNo), Italy

CHANCELLOR, R. D.; 15b Bolton Gardens, LONDON SW5 OAL (Committee 1979-1982)

CHANDLER, Prof R. J.; 2 Rusland Avenue, ORPINGTON, Kent BR6 SAU

CHapMaN, S. E.; ‘‘Steeplefield’’, Marlpost Road, Southwater, HORSHAM, Sussex RH13 7BZ

CHAPMAN- KoFRoN, Ms A.; CSIRO Tropical Forest Research Centre, PO Box 780, ATHERTON, QLD 4883,
Australia

CHATFIELD, D. G. P.; Rhiwenfa, Rhiw, PWLLHELI, Gwyneed LL53 8AE

CuaytTor, Dr R. G.; Triangle, Keenley, ALLENDALE, Northumberland NE47 9NT

Cueke, Dr R. A.; N.R.I., Central Avenue, Chatham Maritime, CHATHAM, Kent ME44TB (Committee 1991-)

CHESHIRE, N. G.; 4+ Willora Road, EDEN HILLS, South Australia 5050, Australia

Curistmas, T. J.; 2 Dymock St, LONDON SW6 3HA

Curisty, P.; 1 Rue des Promenades, 79500 MELLE, France

Criancey, P. A., D.Sc.; Suite 19, Caistor Lodge, 264 Musgrave Road, Berea, pURBAN 4001, South Africa
(Hon. Life Member)

CraripGE, J. C. R.; 17 Moana Road, Plimmerton, via WELLINGTON, New Zealand

Crarke, M. C. A.; Hilltop, Newton, Martley, woRCESTER WR6 6PR

Crarke, P. B.; Pipers, East Hoathley, Lewes, Sussex BN8 6QX

CoLeMan, B.; Little Place, Rogers Lane, STOKE poGEs, Bucks SL2 4LU

CoLeman, J. R.; Hewelsfield, Snowdenham Links Road, BRAMLEY, Surrey GU5 0BX

Cotiins, I. D.; Bryher, 10 Row Lane, Seend Cleeve, MELKSHAM SN12 6PR

Couns, R. E. C.; Seatonden, Seaton, Ickham, CANTERBURY, Kent CT3 1SL

Coston, P. R.; Sub-Dept of Ornithology, British Museum (Natural History), TRING, Herts HP23 6AP

COoNTENTO, G.; Via Desenibus 8, 34074 MONFALCONE, Italy

Coompser, R. F.; 1 Haglane Copse, Pennington, LYMINGTON, Hants SO41 8DT

Cornwa _tis, Dr L.; Glyme Farm, Charlbury Road, CHIPPING NORTON, Oxon OX7 5XJ

Costas, R.; Apdo. Correos 8331, 36200 vico (Pontevedra), Spain

CotTTreLL, G. W., Jnr; PO Box 1487, HILLSBoRO, NH 03244, USA

Court-SmitH, Sq. Ldr. D. St J.; Ascot, 41 West St, MINEHEAD, Somerset TA24 5E]

Cowan, Dr P. J.; Gleann Cottage, Glenlomond, KINRoss, Tayside KY13 7HF

Cow .es, G. S.; Tetherstones, 23 Kirkdale Road, HARPENDEN, Herts AL5 2PT

Cox, Dr R. A. F.; Linden House, Long Lane, Fowlmere, Royston, Herts SG8 7TG

Crappock, B.; 44 Haling Road, Penkridge, srarrorp ST19 5DA

THe Eart oF CRANBROOK, Ph.D.; Great Glemham House, Great Glemham, SAxMUNDHaM, Suffolk [P17 1LP

Critiey, T. L.; 73 Cleveland Road, NORTH SHIELDS, Tyne & Wear NE29 ONW

Crocker, N. J.; Salida, The Street, Ubley, BrisroL, Avon BS18 6PN

Crockett, D. E.; 21 McMillan Avenue, Kamo, NORTHLAND, New Zealand

Crossy, M. J.; 30 Molewood Close, cAaMBRIDGE CB4 3SH

Cross, J. K.; 62 Hulbert Road, Bedhampton, Havant, Hants PO9 3TG

CroucHer, R. A. N.; Uplands Lodge, Manor Road, smeTHwick, W. Midlands B67 6SA (Committee
1980-1984)

CupwortH, J.; 17a Prospect Road, osseTT, Yorks WF5 SAE

CUNNINGHAM VAN SOMMEREN, G. R.; PO Box 24947, Karen, NaiRoBI, Kenya

Curtis, W. F.; Farm Cottage, Church Lane, Atwick, DRIFFIELD, E. Yorks YO25 8DH

Da Fonseca, P. S. M.; Rua Diamantina 20/201, 22461-050, R10 DE JANEIRO RJ, Brazil

DanigEL, A. R.; 21 Kingsbury Avenue, DUNSTABLE, Beds LU5 4PU

Dau.ne, J.-M.; Rue Laforge 11, B-6997 MoRMONT-EREZEE, Belgium

Davipson, I. S.; 49 Benton Park Road, NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE NE7 7LX

Davies, J.; 83 Rectory Lane, Leybourne, west MALLING, Kent ME19 5HD

Davies, Dr M. G.; Summerleas, Crapstone Road, YELVERTON, Devon PL20 6BT

Davis, C. J.; 4 Muller Road, Horfield, pristro. BS7 OAA

Davison, Dr G. W. H.; WWF (Malaysia), Locked Bag No 911, Jalan Sultan P.O., 46990 PETALING Jaya,
Malaysia

Dean, A. R.; 2 Charingworth Road, soLIHULL, W. Midlands B982 8H'T

Dean, W. J. R.; Karoo Biome Research, PO Box 47, PRINCE ALBERT 6930, South Africa

Demarcui, Dr P.; Via Castagnola 7, +3100 parma, Italy

Demey, R.; van der Meinstraat 52, 2582 sB DEN HAAG, Belgium

Dennis, M. K.; 173 Collier Row Lane, RomForD, Essex RM5 3ED

Denton, M. L.; 77 Hawthorne Terrace, Crosland Moor, HUDDERSFIELD, Yorks HD4 5RP

Desrayes, M.; Prevan, CH 1920 FuLLy, Switzerland

Deviters, Dr P. J.; 11 Avenue de |’Oisseau Bleu, B1150 BrussELs, Belgium

Diamonp, Dr A. W.; 1033 University Drive, saskATOON, Saskatchewan, Canada S7N 0K4

Dick, J. A., F-R.C.S.; 33 St Mary’s Road, LonDon, SW19 7BP

Dickinson, E. C.; Norman Chapel, Aston Magna, MORETON IN MARSH, Glos GL56 9QN

Dickinson, H. J.; Abinger Cottage, Paston, NORTH WALSHAM, Norfolk NR28 9TB

Dowsett, R. J.; 12 rue des Lavandes, GANGES F-34190, France

Duckett, J. W.; 94 Lorong Chong Khoon Lin 6, Ukay Heights, 68000 ampanc, Selangor DE, Malaysia

Earp, M. J.; 63 Ivinghoe Road, Bushey, watrorp, Herts WD2 3SW
Eastwoop, C. H. B.; PO Box 921, port MorEsByY, Papua New Guinea

1994
1967
1985
1963

1973
1985
1986
1986
1986

1988
1986

1988
1981
1979
1978

1976
1986
1943)

1991

1991
1984
1985
1978
1979
1965
1994

1981
1959
1992
1976
1988

1991
1974
1966
1986

v1

Ecc.es, S. D.; 8904 Narem Place, ANNANDALE, VA 22003, USA

Eppigz, W. M. M.; 20 Gosford Place, EDINBURGH, EH6 4BH

Epen, R. M. G.; Haliki, Lower Beach Road, West Bexington, DORCHESTER, Dorset DT2 9DG

ELcoop, J. H.; Flat 16, The Anchorage, 157 Mudeford, cHristcHURCH BH23 4AG (Committee 1967-1970,
1986-1990, Vice-Chairman 1971-1974, Chairman 1974-1997)

Evxkins, D. A.; Le Frugier, St Mesmin, 24270 LANoUAILLE, France

Etswortny, Dr G. C.; 14 Greenbank Avenue, Maghull, LiverPooL, L31 2JQ

Ennis, L. H.; Koala, Billingshurst Road, WISBOROUGH GREEN, W. Sussex RH14 0DZ

Erritzor, J.; Taps GL Praestegaard, DK 6070 cHRISTIANSFELD, Denmark

Evans, G. G.; 1 Coach House Mews, Upper Church Road, WESTON-SUPER-MARE, Avon BS23 2DY

FansHaweE, J. H.; Birdlife International, Wellbrook Court, Girton Road, CAMBRIDGE, CB3 ONF

FarNswortH, S. J.; Hammerkop, Frogmill, Hurley, MAIDENHEAD, Berks SL65NL (Committee 1989-1990,
Hon. Treasurer 1990-)

Feare, Dr C. J.; MAFF, Tangley Place, WoRPLESDON, Surrey GU3 3LQ

FERGENBAUER-KIMMEL, Dr A.; Donrather Str. 2, D 53797 LoHMaRL, Germany

Fretp, G. D.; 37 Milton Grove, NEW MILTON, Hants BH25 6HB

FisHer, Dr C. T.; Section of Birds and Mammals, Liverpool Museum, William Brown Street, LIVERPOOL,
L3 8EN

FisHer, D. J.; 56 Western Way, SANDY, Beds SG19 1DU

FisHpoot, Dr L. D. C.; 12 Mountain St, Chilham, caNTERBURY, Kent CT4 8DQ

Firrer, R. S. R.; Drifts, Chinnor Hill, oxrorp OX9 4BS (Committee 1959-1962, Vice-Chairman 1962-1965,
Chairman 1965-1968) (Hon. Life Member)

Fitzpatrick, Dr S.; Dept of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster at Jordanstown,
NEWTOWN ABBEY, Co. Antrim BT37 0QB

FLynn, J. A.; 6 Linkfield Court, 78 Auckland Road, LONDON SE19 2DQ

Fow ter, Dr J. A.; Hafod Heli, High Street, BortTH, Dyfed SY24 5JE

FrANKE, Ms IJ.; Museo de Historia Natural, Casilla 140434, Lowa 14, Peru

Fraser, M. W.; Sandbanks, Kenmuir Steps, Hopkirk Way, GLENCAIRN 7995, South Africa

FrusHer, D. M.; The Barn House, Greatworth, BANBURGY, Oxon OX17 2DT

Fry, Prof. C. H.; Bridge End House, Kentmere, sTavELEY, Cumbria LA8 9JP

Futiacar, Dr P. J.; 5 d’Arcy Place, cHIFLEY, ACT 2606, Australia

Gatey, C. P.; 219 Ainsdale Drive, Werrington, PETERBOROUGH, Cambs PE4 6RL

GALLAGHER, Major M. D.; c/o Box 668, Muscat 113, Oman

Gainer, Dr J. C.; 16 rue Pavillon, 13001 MaRsEILLE, France

Ga.tswortuy, A. C, CMG; 11 Church Path, Merton Park, LONDON SW19 3HJ

GaRDNER-MEDWIN, Dr D.; Flocktous, Station Road, Heddon-on-the-Wall, NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE
NE15 0EG

GaunTLeETT, F. M.; 55 Larkfield Avenue, HaRROow, Middx HA3 8NQ

Gisss, A.; 48 Bolton Road, CHESSINGTON, Surrey KT9 2JB

Gipson, Dr J. A.; Foremount House, KILBARCHAN, Renfrewshire PA10 2EZ

Git, D.; Bute Medical Building, University of St Andrews, FIFE KY169TS

1962-70, 1988 GitiHaM, E. H.; 31 Coast Drive, Lydd on Sea, ROMNEY MARSH, Kent TN29 9NL

1975
1994
1983

1970
1981

1985
1991
1953
1977
1986
1968

1994
1977
1984
1977
1963
1983
1986
1989
1974

1990
1964
1986
1987

1981
1981
1948

1978

1963
1979
1956
1985

Gixtston, H.; Chemin des Mouettes 16, CH 1007, LausANNE, Switzerland

GyersHauG, J. O.; Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Tungaslettad, 7005 TRONDHEIM, Norway

GLapwin, The Rev. T. W.; 90 Warren Way, Digswell, wELWyn, Herts AL6 0DL (Committee 1990-1993,
Vice-Chairman 1993-)

GoopaLlL, A. E.; 46 Adrian Road, Abbots Langley, waTForD, Herts WD5 0AQ

Goopman, S. M.; Dept of Zoology, Field Museum of Natural History, Roosevelt Road at Lakeshore Drive,
cHicaco, IL 60605, USA

Gorpon, J.; 1 Gallowsclough Road, sTALYBRIDGE, Cheshire SK15 3QS

Gortup, P. D.; 36 Kingsfisher Court, Hambridge Road, NEwBury, Berks

Gorton, E.; 249 Wigan Road, Westhaughton, BOLTON, Lancs BL5 2AT

Goster, Dr A. G.; c/o E.G.I., Dept of Zoology, South Park Road, oxForD OX1 3PS

GouLpDING, R. V. G.; 239a Carr Road, NORTHOLT, Middx UB45 4RL

Gray, B.; 6 Totland Court, Victoria Road, MILFORD-ON-sEA, Hants SO410NR (Committee 1977-1980,
Vice-Chairman 1980-1983, Chairman 1983-1986)

Green, G. E.; 33 Long Plough, Aston Clinton, AayLEsBURY, Bucks HP22 5HD

GrEEN, Prof. J., Ph.D.; 17 King Edwards Grove, TEDDINGTON, Middx TW11 9LY

GREENLAW, Dr J. S.; 2813 SW 43 Lane, cape coraL, FL 33914, USA

GREENWOOD, Dr J. G.; Science Dept, Stranmills College, BELFast, BT9 S5DY

GREENWOOD, Dr J. J. D.; B.T.O., The Nunnery, Nunnery Place, THETFORD, Norfolk [P24 2PU

Grecory, P. A.; Tabubil International School, PO Box 69, TanuBIL, Western Province, Papua New Guinea

Grecory, S. M. S.; 35 Monarch Road, Kingsthorpe Hollow, NorTHAMPTON NN2 6EH

GrettTon, A.; Cosford Hall, Hadleigh, Suffolk IP7 6DR

GrirFIN, D.; 51a Palace Road, EAST MOLESEY, Surrey (Committee 1983-1986, Vice-Chairman 1986-1989,
Committee 1989-1990, Vice-Chairman 1990-1993, Chairman 1993-)

GriFFITH, E.; Pentrecaeau Uchaf, LLANDEILO GRABAN, Powys LD2 3YX

Grimes, Dr L. G.; St Nicholas Court, St Nicholas Church St, warwick CV34 4JD

GrossMaNn Dr. H.; Wietreie 78, D 2000 HAMBURG 67, Germany

Guttick, T. M.; c/o Mrs M. Parker, 5 Tile Barn Close, FARNBOROUGH, Hants GU14 8LS

Harrer, Dr J.; Thommesweg 60, D-45149 EssEN, Germany

Hate, Prof. W. G.; 5 Ryder Close, Aughton, ormsKiIRK, Lancs L39 5HJ

Hatt, Mrs B. P.; Woodside Cottage, Woodgreen, FORDINGBRIDGE, Hants SP6 2QU (Committee 1955-1959,
1962-1965, Vice-Chairman 1959-1962)

Hatt, Prof. G. A.; Dept of Chemistry, PO Box 6045, West Virginia University, MORGANTOWN, WV
26506-6045, USA

Hancock, J. A., O.B.E.; Jollers, Woodman Lane, Sparsholt, WINCHESTER, Hants SO21 2NS

Hanmer, Mrs D. B.; PO Box 3076, Paulington, MUTARE, Zimbabwe

Hartey, B. H.; Martins, Great Horkesley, COLCHESTER, Essex CO6 4AH

Harman, A. J. E.; 20 Chestnut Close, HocKLEY, Essex SS5 5EJ

1979
1977
1990
1960

1977
1974
1953
1974

1985
1991
1986
1994
1989
1987
1991
1986
1994
1986
1984
1989
1989
1979

1990
1985
1981

1986
1957

vil

Harper, W. G.; 8 Winton Grove, EDINBURGH EH10 7AS

Harpum, Dr J.; 58 Shindington Road, CHELTENHAM, Glos GL53 OJE

Harrap, S.; 13 Hempstead Road, HOLT, Norfolk NR25 6DL

Harrison, Dr C. J. O.; 19 Kennington Road, Kennington, oxrorp OX15NZ (Committee 1963-1964,
1965-1968, 1974-1977, Hon. Secretary 1964-1965)

Harrison, I. D.; Llyswen, Lon y felin, ABERAERON, Dyfed SA46 OED

Harvey, W. G.; c/o FCO (Nairobi), King Charles St., LonDoN, SW1A 2AH

Harwin, Dr R. M.; 3 Benatar Way, Alexandra Park, HARARE, Zimbabwe

Hasecawa, H.; Dept of Biology, Faculty of Science, Toho University, Miyama-cho, FUNABASHI, Chiba 274,
Japan

Hausitz, Dr B.; Bergenerstr 26, D 30625 HANOVER, Germany

Hazevoet, C. J.; H. Coenradistr 27-2, 1063 XP amsTERDAM, Netherlands

Hearp, G. E.; 4+ Lambley Lane, GEDLING, Notts NG4 4PA

He sic, Dr A. J.; Universitat Greifswald, Vogelwarte Hiddensee, D-18565 KLOSTER/HIDDENSEE, Germany

Heim, C. A. R.; The Banks, Mountfield, ROBERTSBRIDGE, E. Sussex TN32 5]Y

HENDERSON, A. C. B.; Farthings, The Forstal, Preston, CANTERBURY, Kent CT3 1DR

HENDERSON, D.; PO Box 29, LEGANA, Tasmania 7277, Australia

HENSHALL, K. W.; Crofthead, Penmark, BARRY, 5S. Glamorgan CF6 9BP

HeErRBER, K.; 22 Rusham Park Ave., EGHAM, Surrey TW20 9NB

Heron, Cpl K.; Tatchley Retreat, 332 Prestbury Road, CHELTENHAM, Glos GL52 3DD

HeEskeTH, W.; 2 Grasmere Close, Walton-le-Dale, PRESTON, Lancs PR5 4RR

Hicerns, M. C.; 1 Acorn Close, BRIDLINGTON, N., Humberside YO16 5YX

Hit, A.; Albrecht Haushofer Str 10, 3200 HILDESHEIM, Germany

Hrratpo, Dr F.; Estacion Biologica de Donana, Pabellon del Peru, Avda. Maria Luisa s/n, 41013 SEVILLE,
Spain i

HrrscHFELp, E.; Sodra Furstadsgatan, S-21143 mMaLmo, Sweden

Hockey, Dr P. A. R.; P.F.I1.A.O. University of Cape Town, RONDEsBOsCH 7700, South Africa

Hopeson, M. C.; CDC Jakarta, c/o Commonwealth Development Corporation, One Bessborough Gardens,
LONDON SW1V 2JQ

Horrman, T. W.; Haus Sonnenberg, CH 8914 arucst, Switzerland

Hoce, P.; 44 West End, Kemsing, SEVENOAKS, Kent TN156PY (Committee 1962-1966, 1972-1974,
Vice-Chairman 1974-1977, Chairman 1977-1980)

1986-88, 1993 Hotcomesg, A. J.; 7 The Ridgeway, TONBRIDGE, Kent TN104NQ

1933

1992
1973
1972
1980

1989
1970

1960
1981
1981
1978
1994
1985
1981
1986
1992

1975
1987
1985

1986
1984
1984
1978
1983

1973
1970
1986
1951
1989
1985
1989
1974
1982
1991
1980

1992
1965
1986
1983
1989

1992
1960

Hotiom, P. A. D.; Inwood Cottage, Hydestile, GoDALMING, Surrey GU84AY (Committee 1938-1941,
1947-1949, 1959-1963) (Hon. Life Member)

Hottoway, S. J.; Orchard Cottage, Elmsdale Crescent, ApbMasTon, Telford TF40AQ

Ho.mes, D. A.; c/o Bull, The Old Rectory, Cold Overton, UPPINGHAM, Leics LE15 7QA

Hotryoak, D. T.; 8 Edward St., Tucking Mill, camBourNE, Cornwall TR14 8PA

HomBerGER, Dr DomINiIQuE, G.; Dept of Zoology & Physiology, Louisiana State University, BATON ROUGE,
LA70803-1725, USA

HooGENBOORN, W.; Notengaard 32, 3941 LW pboorn, Netherlands

Horne, Ms J. F. M.; American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th St, NEW yorK, NY
10024-5192, USA

Horwoop, M. T.; 2 Church Close, Benson, oxForD, Oxon

Hounsome, Dr M. V.; Manchester University Museum, Oxford Road, MANCHESTER M13 9PL

Houston, Dr D. C.; Dept of Zoology, University of Glasgow, GLascow G12 8QQ

Hove , Ing. H. G.; 55 Einstein Str., 34602 Haira, Israel

Howe Lt, S.; 4990 Shoreline Hway, sTINSON BEACH, CA 94970, USA

Howarp, R. P.; Hogg House, Lower Basildon, READING, Berks RG8 9NH

Howe, S.; Alma House, 12 William Street, ToRPHINS, Grampian AB3 4JR

Hunter, A.; 16 Bollin Walk, Reddish Road, South Reddish, stockport SK5 7JW

Huron, A.; c/o MCB Ltd., PO Box 52, port Louis, Mauritius

INGELs, Dr J.; Galgenberglaan 9, B9070 DESTELBERGEN, Belgium
Inskipp, T.; c/o World Conservation Monitoring Centre, 219c Huntingdon Road, CAMBRIDGE CB3 ODL
Irons, Dr J. K.; 9 Babylon Way, Ratton, EASTBOURNE, E. Sussex BN20 9DL

James, S. L.; Al Gar Building, Apt 1404, PO Box 26833, aBu pHaBI, United Arab Emirates

James, T. J.; 56 Back Street, Ashwell, BaLDock, Herts SG7 5PE

Jennincs, M. C.; 1 Warners Farm, Warners Drove, SOMERSHAM, Cambs PE17 3HW

JENSEN, H.; Tolstoje Alle 26, DK 2860 sornorc, Denmark

Jepson, P. R.; ICBP Indonesia Programme, PO Box 212/800, JL Cilosari Block B XII No. 1, BoGoR Baru,
Bogor 16001, Indonesia

Josinc, J., A.; 14 The Valley Green, WELWYN GARDEN ciTy, Herts AL8 7DQ

Jounson, E. D. H.; Crabiére Cottage, Grande Route des Mielles, sr ovEN, Jersey JE3 2FN, Channel Islands

Jounson, Major F.; 6 Norrington Mead, Broadmead Village, FOLKESTONE, Kent CT19 5TF

Jounson, H. P. H.; 17 Via Bontempi, PERUGIA, Italy

Jounson, W. C. P.; 106 Upper Backway, Shrewton, saLispury, Wilts SP3 4DE

JounstTon, D.; 4 Burn Street, Longtown, CARLISLE, Cumbria CA6 6XW

JouNston, Dr J. P.; 4 Lawhead Road West, st ANDREWS, Fife KY16 9NE

Jones, Dr A. M.; Fiodhag, Dell Road, NETHYBRIDGE, Inverness-shire PH25 3DL

Jones, C. G.; c/o Forestry Quarters, BLACK RIVER, Mauritius

Jones, Ms R. M.; 51 Lee Terrace, Blackheath, LONDON SE3 9TA

JONGELING, T. B.; 3 Oosterparkstraat 46-1, 1091 JZ amsTERDAM, Netherlands

Kano NEE, Dr.; Block 647, Yishun Street, 61, #07-366, Singapore 2776

Keitu, G. S.; 19356 Lee View Lane, REDDING, CA 96003, USA

Ketsey, Dr F. D.; White Cottage, Church Lane, Cley-next-the-Sea, HoLT, Norfolk NR25 7UD

Kesey, Dr M. G.; ICBP, 32 Cambridge Road, Girton, camMBRIDGE CB3 OPJ

Kennepy, Dr R. S.; Cincinnatti Museum of Natural History, 1720 Gilbert Avenue, cINCINNaTTI OH 45202,
USA

KENNERLY, P.; Block 5 01-04, Regency Park, Natham Road, Singapore 1024

Kent, J. DE R.; Mews Cottage, Church Hill, mipHurst, Sussex GU29 9NX

1990
1982
1990
1981
1988
1984
1973
1979
1989
1987

1989
1986
1985
1989
1985
1959-74,
1994
1975
1985
1988
1994
1991
1968-71,
1993
1985
1992
1982
1951-55,
1979
1986
1985
1992
1981

1973
1991

1944

1991
1988
1978
1981
1992
1974
1992
1981
1986
1989
1970
1988
1994

1957
1992
1994
1985
1985
1983
1982
1987
1988
1986
1964
1993
1989
1987
1982
1979
1981
1990
1980
1980
1986

1994
1991
1991
1986
1980
1988

vill

KeErrR-SMILEY, Lt.-Col. P. S.; Towranna Farm, Huntingfield, HALESWorRTH, Suffolk [P19 0QP
Kettie, R. H.; 75 Dupont Road, LONDON SW20 8EH (Committee 1988-1991)

Kuan, Dr Md Att Reza; In Charge, Dubai Zoo, PO Box 67, puBal, United Arab Emirates
KING, J.; 96 Forbes Avenue, POTTERS BAR, Herts EN6 5NQ A

KiNG, J. R.; Dept of Zoology, Edward Grey Institute, South Parks Road, oxrorp OX1 3PS
KniGcut, J. E.; 33 North Rod, Stokesley, MIDDLESBROUGH, Cleveland T'S9 5DZ

Knox, Dr A. G.; Glebe House, 77 Leighton Road, winGrave, Bucks HP22 4PA

KorkE, SHIGETO; 1523 Honjo, Niigata-shi, NIIGATA PREFECTURE, 950 Japan

Kooa, K., 332-12-12-2 Terukini, Chuo-ku, Fukuoku 810, Japan

Kramer, D.; 7 Little Headlands, Putnoe, BEpDFoRD MK14 8JT

Lack, Dr P. C.; c/o B.T.O., The Nunnery, Nunnery Place, THETFORD, Norfolk IP24 2PU

Lainc, R. M.; 87 Johnston Gardens East, Peterculter, ABERDEEN AB1 OLA

LAMBERT, F. R.; c/o 15 Bramble Rise, Westdene, BRIGHTON, Sussex BN1 5GE

LAURENCE OF Mar, Lt.-Cdr.; 30 Horton Downs, Downswood, MAIDSTONE ME15 8TN

Lawson, I. B.; 20 Glen Walk, 12 Sugar Farm Trail, Sunningdale, pURBAN 4051, South Africa

1986 Lees-Smitu, D. T.; 134 The Avenue, Starbeck, HARROGATE, N. Yorks HG1 4QF

Leman, R. G. A.; Millstream House, Heylesbury, WARMINSTER, Wilts BA12 OEE

Leveque, R.; Feld 16, CH 6204 sempacn, Switzerland

Lewis, I. T.; Gables, Fordcombe, Nr TUNBRIDGE WELLS, Kent TTN3 ORY

Lim, K.; 177 Jalan Loyang Besar, Singapore 1750

Lin, W.-Y.; 7 Ln 228 Sec 2 Hsin-I Rd, Tarper 10602, Taiwan

LinpsiaD, O.; Skaldevagen 58, S-35239 vaxjo, Sweden

1989 Linpsay, J. D.; 17c Walbrook Avenue, Springfield, MILTON KEYNES, Bucks MK6 3JB

Linpsay, Dr N. J.; 13 Dove St, Saltaire Village, sHipLey, W. Yorks BD18 SEY

Lister, S. M.; 31 Lisle Street, LOUGHBOROUGH, Leics LE11 0AY

Litre, B.; 31 Craigbeath Court, COWDENBEATH, Fife KY4 9BZ

LirTLemorg, F. P.; Plemstall, 264 Dunchurch Road, RuGBy, Warwicks CV22 6HX

1977 LiversipGE, Dr R.; 92 Central Road, KIMBERLEY, Cape Province 8301, South Africa

Lioyp, Capt. G. C., C.B.E., R.N.; Lanterns, Buckmore Avenue, PETERSFIELD Hants GU32 2EF

Loyp, J. V.; Cynghordy, LLANDOVERY, Dyfed SA20 0LN

Lossy, G.; Turnersstraat 42, 2020 antwerP, Belgium

Lovuetrte, M.; Achterstr 109, 3080 TERVUREN, Belgium

Lovejoy, Dr T. E.; Asst. Sec. for External Affairs, Smithsonian Institution SI-317, 1000 Jefferson Drive SW,
WASHINGTON DC 20560, USA

McAnprew, R. T.; 5 Thornhill Gardens, HARTLEPOOL, Cleveland TS26 OHY

McCancu, N. V.; c/o Mr F. J. McCanch, 10 Northall Estate, St Ishmael’s, HAVERFORDWEST, Pembrokeshire
SA62 35W

McCuttocu, The Rev. G. K. O.B.E.; 5 Roy Road, NorTHwoop, Middx HA6 1EQ (Committee 1981-1983,
Vice-Chairman 1983-1986, Chairman 1986-1989) (Hon. Life Member)

McGowan, Dr K. J.; Ecology and Systematics, Corson Hall, Cornell University, rrHaca, NY 14853, USA

McGowan, P.; Biology Dept, The Open University, Walton Hall, Mi-ToN KEYNES MK7 6AA

McKean, J. L.; 955 Escalon Avenue, Apt 812, SUNNYvALE, CA 94086, USA

McLaueu.uin, T. J.; Lisnacarrig, Brighton Road, roxrock, Co. Dublin, Eire

McNameg, I.; West Lodge, Puddington, South Wirral, Cheshire L64 5ST

MeNerL, Dr D. A. C.; 721 Loughborough Road, BrrsTaLL, Leics LE4 4NN

McPueti, B. M.; 371 McKinley St NW, wasHINGToN DC 20015, USA

Mapog, S. C.; 2 Church Row, Sheviock, TORPOINT, Cornwall PL11 3EH

Main, J. S.; 67 Farm Fields, SANDERSTEAD, Surrey CR2 OHR

Matcorm, N. S.; 439 Banbury Road, oxrorp, OX2 8ED

Mann, Dr C. F.; 123 Hartswood Road, LONDON W12 9NG (Committee 1977-1981)

MansFIELD, R. C.; ““Birdwood’’, 15c Lyles Road, Cottenham, CAMBRIDGE CB4 4QR

Marantz, C. A.; Biology Dept, Morrill (South), University of Massachusetts, Box 35810, amHErRstT MA
01003-5810, USA

MarcHANT, S.; Lot 24, Maulbrooks Road, Moruya, NSW 2537, Australia

Marr, B. A. E.; 17 Roundhouse Drive, West Pery, HUNTINGDON, Cambs PE18 0DJ

Marrus, R. S.; Hemlock Ledge, Hemlock Ledge Rd., TUPPER LAKE, NY 12986, USA

AARTIN, J. W. P.; 54 Wolsey Road, EAST MOLESEY, Surrey K'T8 9EW

JarTIN, Dr M. R.; 35 Auburn Road, Hawthorne, MELBOURNE, Victoria 3122, Australia

JarTiIns, R. P.; 6 Connaught Road, Norwicu, Norfolk NR2 3BP

Mason, I. J.; CSIRO Div. of Wildlife Research, PO Box 84, LyNEHaM, ACT 2602, Australia

Jason, V.; Interhash 88, PO Box 400, DENPASAR 80001, BALI, Indonesia

Massa, B.; Via Archirafi 18, Instituto di Zoologia, 90123 PALERMO, Italy

Massey, K. G.; 4 Hall Terrace, Great Sankey, WARRINGTON, Cheshire WA5 3EZ

Meap, C. J.; c/o BTO., The Nunnery, Nunnery Place, THETFORD, Norfolk IP24 2PU (Committee 1971-1975)

Trap, Ms C.; 65 Terrington Hill, MarLtow, Bucks SL7 2RE

Meapows, B. S.; 9 Old Hall Lane, WALTON ON THE NAZE, Essex CO14 8LE

JepLAND, R. D.; 2 Staplake Cottages, Starcross, EXETER, Devon EX6 8QT

Mepway, D. G.; PO Box 476, NEW PLYMOUTH, New Zealand

kek, E. R.; Smyril, Stenness, STROMNESS, Orkney

MeetH, P.; Bramenlaan 5, 2116 TR BENTVELD, Netherlands

MEININGER, P. L.; Lisztlaan 5, 4384 KM v_issINGEN, Netherlands

Metprum, Dr J. A. K.; Heath House, 1 Millgate, Lisvane, carpiIrF CF4 5TY

MELVILLE, D. S.; c/o WWF (Hong Kong), GPO Box 12721, Hong Kong

MerEDITH-MIDDLETON, Miss J.; Anatomy Dept, University College of London, Gower St, LONDON
WCIE 6BT

Meseguipa, F.; c/Canario 4, Urb Cotorredondo, 28979 Batres, MADRID, Spain

Meysurc, Dr B. U.; Herbetstrasse 14, D-14193 BERLIN, Germany

Micavi, Dr G.; Via Savona 71, I-20144 miLan MI, Italy

Mitts, T. R.; 36 Chartfield Avenue, Putney, LONDON, SW15 6HG

MIskELL, J.; CARE-Sudan, PO Box 2702, kHaRTOUM, Sudan

MO ter, E.; Parkstr. 13, 32049 HERFORD, Germany

1946

1988
1992
1978
1985

1989
1990
1986
1989
1989
1951
1983
1986
1990
1982
1989

1974

1986
1987
1986
1986
1974
1979

1979
1994
1989
1973

1970
1982

1986
1977

1994

1971
1994

1993
1994
1966
1957
1991
1963

1989
1979
1988
1989
1982
1978
1957
1982
1989
1968
1981
1994
1978
1989
1992

1979
1981
1982
1989

1982

1987
1936
1989
1994
1981
1977
1981

1X

Monk, Dr J. F., D.M.; Bridge Cottage, High St, Goring, READING, Berks RG8 9AN (Vice-Chairman
1965-1968, Chairman 1968-1971, Editor 1976-1991, Committee 1991-)

MonTEMAGGIORI, A.; Via Emilio de Cavalieri 12, 00198 Rome, Italy

Montier, D. J.; Eyebrook, Oldfield Road, Bickley, BRomMLEY, Kent BR1 2LF

Moore, A. G.; Braemar House, 38 Cotman Road, Thorpe Hamlet, NorwicH, NR1 4AF

Moore, Mrs A. M.; 1 Upingham Road, oakHaM, Rutland LE15 6JB (Committee 1987-1989, Hon. Secretary
1989-)

More, Dr G.; Route de Sallenelles, Brévilles-les-Monts, F 14860 RANVILLE, France

Moret, Dr Marie-Yvonne; Route de Sallenelles, Bréville-les-Monts, F 14860 RANVILLE, France

Morcan, R. G.; 13 Cloncurry St, LONDON SW6 6DR

Morrow, R.; 58 Mutch Avenue, KYEEMAGH, NSW 2216, Australia

Morris, W.; 8 Hughes St, Penygraig, RHONDDA, Mid Glamorgan, CF40 1LX

Mountrort, G. R., O.B.E.; 8 Park Manor, St Aldhelms Road, POOLE, Dorset BH13 6BS

Moyer, D. C.; PO Box 934, rrRINGA, Tanzania

Mutter, Mrs M. N.; Lovedays Mill, paryswick, Glos GL6 6SH

Miu wer, H. H.; Breitenfelder Str 46, D-20251, HamBuRG, Germany

Murpuy, M.; Marine Station, Sherkin Island, co. cork, Eire

Musecrove, N. J.; 41 Emergy Close, watsaLL, West Midlands WS1 3AC

Nakata, Y.; Pheasant & Wildlife Soc. of Japan, 17-11 3 Chome Kuwazu, Higasisumiyosi-ku, osaka 546,
Japan

Nasu, J. W.; 13 Farm Hill, BRIGHTON, Sussex BN2 6BG

Nattress, B.; 25 West Lea Drive, West Ardsley, WAKEFIELD, W. Yorks WF3 1DH

NEWLAND, R. A.; 93 Arne Avenue, Parkstone, POOLE, Dorset BH12 4DP

Nicuots, Dr T. D.; University Medical Center, 5620 Greenbriar Suite 103, Houston, TX 77005, USA

Nicotson, M. P.; The Hilton National, Walcot Street, BATH, Avon BA1 5BJ

NosLE-ROLLIN, C.; Greystones, Glanton, ALNWICK, Northumberland NE66 4AH

Opga, Dr T.; Nat. Hist. Mus. & Inst., 955-2 Aoba-Cho, cH1Ba 280, Japan

OLpFIELD, S. W.; Duckend Farmhouse, Birchanger, BISHOP’S STORTFORD, Herts CM23 5QS

Ottoso, G.; Le Grand Faubourg, F26230, GRIGNAN, France

Otiver, P. J.; The Briar Patch, Trevereux Hill, Limpsfield Chart, oxrep, Surrey RH8 0TL (Committee
1978-1979)

Otson, Dr S. L.; NHB MRC 116(Birds), National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution,
WASHINGTON DC 20560, USA

OreEN, Dr D. C.; Dept Zoologica, Museu Goeldi, Caixa Postal 399, Belem, Para, CEP 66040, Brazil

PAtsson, P.; Carlandersplatsen 4, S 41255, GOTHENBURG, Sweden

Parker, J. G.; Clavering House, Foulden Road, Oxborough, KINGS LYNN, Norfolk PE33 9BL (Committee
1979-1983)

ParMacee, Dr D. F.; Marjorie Barrick Museum of Natural History, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Box 454012,
Las VEGAS, Nevada 89154-4012, USA

Parkes, Dr K. C.; Carnegie Museum, 4400 Forbes Avenue, pITTsBURG, PA 15213, USA

Parry, S. J.; Dept of Biology, Medawar Building, University College London, Gower St, LONDON,
WCIE 6BT

Patrick, C.; 7 Wellington Court, The Nothe, weEymoutH, Dorset DT4 8UA

Patten, M. A.; PO Box 51959, riversipE, CA 92517-2959, USA

Payne, Dr R. B.; Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, ANN aRBoR, MI 48109, USA

Paynter, Dr R. A., Jnr; Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, CAMBRIDGE, MA 02138, USA

PEAKALL, Dr D. B.; 17 St Mary’s Road, Wimbledon, LONDON SW19 7BZ

Peat, R. E. F.; 2 Chestnut Lane, sEvENoaKS, Kent TN133AR (Committee 1969-1971, Hon. Secretary
1971-1989, Chairman 1989-1993, Committee 1993-)

Peart, D. E. M.; 35 Salisbury Road, Wilton, saLissury, Wilts SP2 ODT

Peckover, W. S., O.B.E.; 14 Balanda Street, JINDALEE, Queensland 4074, Australia

Penry, Dr E. H.; PO Box 138, orKNEY, Transvaal 2620, South Africa

Perron, R.; 114 Park Lane East, REIGATE, Surrey RH2 8LW

PeTerSON, A.; Natturufraedistofnun Islands, PO Box 5320, REYKJAVIK 125, Iceland

Pettet, Prof. A., Ph.D.; Uplands, The Avenue, Kingsdown, DEAL, Kent CT14 8DU

Puiwiips, Dr A. R.; Reforma 825 A, Col. Chapultepac, San Nicolas de los Garza, NEUVO LEON, 66450 Mexico

PICKERING, R. H.; 27 Broomiecknowe Park, BONNyRIGG, Midlothian EH19 2JB

Piper, S. E.; 2 Canal Drive, WESTVILLE, 3630 Natal, South Africa

PLENGE, M. A.; c/o Logistics Services, Inc., 1612 NW 84th Av., mramt, Florida 3312-1032, USA

Pomeroy, Dr D. E.; Resource Centre, Muienr, PO Box 7298, KAMPALA, Uganda

Powe LL, Dr C. D.; Cobblestones, Lees Road, Brabourne Lees, AsHFoRD, Kent TN25 6RN

Poyser, T.; Town Head House, Calton, WATERHOUSES, Staffs ST10 3JQ

Prats, TINIpaD, P.; Cami de Rafalat 59, Casats de Trebeluger, MENORCA, Spain

Praz, J.-C.; Conservateur, Musée Cantonal d’Histoire Naturelle, Case Postale 2160, 42 Av. de la Gare, 1950
SION, Switzerland

Price, R. C.; 3 Ashchurch Park Villas, LONDON W12 9SP

Prince, P. A.; c/o British Antarctic Survey, Madingley Road, camBRIDGE CB3 0ET

PRITCHETT, R. S.; First Floor Flat, 81 Winchester Street, LONDON SW1U 4NU

Prys-Jones, Dr R. P.; Sub-Dept of Ornithology, British Museum (Natural History), TRING, Herts HP23 6AP

Quay, Dr W. B.; BioResearch Laboratory, Rtl Box 327, NEW BLOOMFIELD MO 65063-9719, USA

Rag, M. C.; Roydon Hall, Roydon, KINGs LYNN, Norfolk PE32 1AR

Rajkowsk1, Dr K. M.; 14 rue des Poissons, F 93600, auLNay-sous-BoIs, France

RANDALL, A.; 13 Church Road, Cowley, uxBripGr, Middx UB8 3NB

Rappo eg, Dr J.; 1500 Remount Road, FRONT ROYAL VA 22630, USA

Rasmussen, S. H.; Bakkehaven 18, DK 4180 sors, Denmark

Raynor, E. M.; Priorsmead, 15 Nash Meadow, soUTH WARNBOROUGH, Hants RG25 1RJ

REDFERN, C. P. F.; Dermatology Dept, Newcastle upon Tyne University, RVI NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
NE1 4CP

1978
1976
1987
1982
1994
1989
1991
1982
1993
1989
1989
1993
1991
1962

1986
1978
1984

1986
1987
1972
1982
1993

1981
1989
1954
1992
1986
1987
1987
1986
1974
1986
1984

1993
1989
1984
1961
1986
1968
1979
1979
1985
1979
1991
1985

1987

1984
1993
1970
1988
1992
1991
1973
1981
1992
1977
1981
1981
1985
1980
1957
1988
1979
1991
1990
1994

1989
1992

1983
1989
1994

1988

X

ReEpDMAN, N. J.; Banks House, Mountfield, Nr ROBERTSBRIDGE, E. Sussex TN32 5JY

Repman, P. S.; 20 rue Dauphine, F 75006, paris, France

Reep, J. M.; 21 Hardings, Panshanger, WELWYN GARDEN ciTy, Herts AL7 2EQ

Rerp, Dr J. B.; Temple Crescent, craiL, Fife KY10 3RS F

Rerno, L. M.; Av DN Mario Moutinho, L 1733 10E, 1400 Lisson, Portugal

RicHarpson; J. E.; Hazelbrow, Rad Lane, Peaslake, GUILDFORD, Surrey GU5 9PB

Ritcuigz, Dr D.; Seaton House, Kings Ripton, HUNTINGDON, Cambs PE17 2NJ

Roserts, T. J.; Cae Gors, Rhosecefnhir, PENTRAETH, Anglesey LL75 8YU

Rosertson, A. L. H.; 2 St Georges Terrace, Blockley, MORETON IN MARSH, Glos GL56 IBN

Rosertson, I. S.; Laurle Bank, Exnabol, virkiz, Shetland ZE3 9JS

Rosertson, K. W.; 553 North Road, DARLINGTON DL1 3AB

Rosinson, N. E.; 15/17 Prospect Street, Buttershaw, BRADFORD BD6 2DY

Rour, W. F.; Silcherweg 13, D-55063 Mainz, Germany

Romer, M. L. R.; Gillingshill, Arkesden Road, Clavering, SAFFRON WALDEN, Essex CB11 40U (Committee
1964-1968)

Roskart, Dr E.; Kongshaugveien 12, N 7560 vikHAmMar, Norway

Ross, N.; 71 Buckingham Road, wiLmMsLow, Cheshire SK9 5LA

Rounp, P. D.; Centre for Conservation, Mahidol University (Dept of Biology), Rama V! Road, BANGKOK,
10400, Thailand

Rowsury, T. J.; 25 Priestley Drive, Larkfield, MampsTONE, Kent ME20 6TX

Row ey, I. C. R.; CSIRO Locked Bag 4, PO mipLanp, Western Australia 6056, Australia

Rupce, P.; National Hospital for Nervous Diseases, Queen Square, LONDON, WC1N 3RG

Rumsey, S. J. R.; Elms Farm, Pett Lane, Icklesham, wWINCHELSEA, E. Sussex TN36 4AH

Rya.ti, Dr C.; Environmental Technology, Farnborough College, Boundary Road, FARNBOROUGH, Hants
GU14 6SB

Saari, Dr C. L. V.; Aasla, SF 21150 rooxa, Finland

SaETHER, S. A.; Dept of Zoology, University of Trondheim, N-7055 praGvoLL, Norway

SacE, B. L.; Waveney House, 41 Waveney Close, WELLS-NEXT-THE-SEA, Norfolk NR23 1HU

Sataman, P. G. W.; 28 Oakway, W. Wimbledon, LONDON SW20 9JE

Sat, D.; Oakwell Park, Thorn, BEDForD LU5 6JH

SamwaLp, O.; Muhlbreitenstrasse 61, A 8280 FURTENFELD, Austria

Sassoon, Miss S.; Flat 1, 21 Upper Phillimore Gardens, LONDON W8 7HF

Saw_e, V. J.; Rose Cottage, Home Farm, Rusthall, TUNBRIDGE WELLS, Kent TN4 8TT

Sayers, B. C.; 164 Chelmer Road, CHELMSFORD, Essex CM2 6AB

SCHARFENBERG, C. D.; Rebaek Soepark 3, 1505, DK 2650 Hvipovre, Denmark

ScHUCHMANN, Dr K.-L.; Zoologisches Forschungsinstitut u Museum Alexander Koenig, Audenauerallee
150-164, 5300 BoNN 1, Germany

ScHuLtTz, A.; PO Box 540, porT ELIZABETH 6000, South Africa

Scuuize-HaceEn, K.; Bergerstr. 163, D-41068 MUNCHENGLADBACH, Germany

ScuttrT, R.; Roseggerstr. 35, D-12059 BERLIN, Germany

Scott, R. E.; 8 Woodlands, Priory Hill, sr Neots, Huntingdon, Cambs PE19 1UE

Setr, Dr R.; 21 Firs Avenue, LONDON N10 3LY

SELL, P. D.; Botany School, Downing Street, CAMBRIDGE CB2 3EA

SELLAR, P. J.; 89 Riddlesdown Road, PURLEY, Surrey CR8 1DH

Setvar, T. J., Ph.D.; Zoology & Applied Entomology Dept, Imperial College, LONDON SW7 2AZ

SHARLAND, R. E., F.C.A.; 1 Fisher’s Heron, East Mills, FORDINGBRIDGE, Hants SP6 2JR

SuHarrock, Dr J. T. R.; Fountains, Park Lane, Blunham, BEpDForRD MK44 3NJ

SHaw, M. B.; 6 The Spinney, Killingworth Village, NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, NE12 0BG

SHELDON, F. H.; Museum of Natural Sciences, 119 Foster Hall, Louisiana State University, BATON ROUGE,
LA 70863, USA

Suiceta, Y.; Bird Migration Research Centre, Yamashina Institute for Ornithology, Konoyama, Abiko,
CHIBA 270-11, Japan

Suirinal, H.; PO Box 4168, ErLaT 88102, Israel

Simms, C.; Cross-fell Cottage, Gatehead, Garrigill, ALSoON, Cumbria CA9 3AB

SKINNER, Prof. N. J., Ph.D.; 60 Gunton Drive, LowestTor, Suffolk NR32 4QB

Stack, E.; Norwood, 30 Reid Park Road, Jesmond, NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE NE2 2ES

Smit, H.; Preludeweg 65, 1312 SN a_mexe, Netherlands

Smit, D. T.; 18 Edinburgh Place, Earls Avenue, FOLKESTONE, Kent CT20 2HP

Situ, G. A.; Green Acre, Great North Road, Haddon, pETERBOROUGH PE7 3T'N

SmitH, Dr N. G.; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Unit 0948, APO AA 34002-0948, USA

Situ, P. W.; PO Box 3170, FLoripa city, FL 33034-0170, USA

Snow, Dr D. W.: The Old Forge, Wingrave, AYLESBURY, Bucks HP22 4PD (Editor 1991-)

SomaprkartTa, Dr S.; Jalan Salak 12, BoGorR 16151, Indonesia

Spaans, Dr A. L.; Sylvalaan 12, 6810 ARNHEM, Netherlands

Spitzer, Dr G.; Inst. fiir Zoologie & Univ. Wien, Althanstr 14, A 1090 vieNNa, Postfach 282, Austria

Stack, Dr C. G.; 7 Alderbrook Road, soLIHULL, W. Midlands B91 1NH

STAFFORD, J.; Westering, Moor Lane, BRIGHSTONE, Isle of Wight PO30 4DL

STANFIELD, Dr J. P.; 25 Brandling Place South, NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, NE24 RU

SratHam, S. A. H.; Woodcock Hill, Durrants Lane, BERKHAMSTED, Herts HP4 3TR (Committee 1983-1986)

StTENwIG, J. T.; Dept of Pathology, Akershus Central Hospital PB33, N-1474 NORDBYHAGEN, Norway

STEPHEN, J. A.; 27 New Street, WELLS, Somerset BAS 2LE

STERLING, J.; Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, National Zoological Park, wasHINGTON DC 20008,
USA

STEWART-Cox, Miss B.; Long Mead, Brixton Deverill, WARMINSTER, Wilts BA12 7EJ

Stites, F. G.; Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Univ. Nacional de Columbia, Apto 7495, BoGoTa DC,
Columbia

Strong, N. H. F.; 64 Trinity Road, Old Wolverton, MILTON KEYNES, Bucks MK12 5PB (Committee 1986-1990)

Stott, R. D. E.; 5 Branksome Tower, 3 Tregunter Path, Hong Kong

Srotz, Dr D. F.; Environmental and Conservation Programmes, Field Museum of Natural History,
Roosevelt Road at Lakeshore Drive, cH1caco, IL 60605, USA

Straw, Dr S. D.; Wildlife Conservation International, Bronx Zoological Park, 185th St. & S. Blvd, BRONx,
NY 10460, USA

1987
1977

1986
1991
1993
1988

1990
1985
1956
1985
1975

1976
1982
1979
1982
1979
1988
1981
1984
1985
1989
1988
1991
1959
1994
1994
1977
1985
1985
1986
1970
1991
1986
1985

1975
1993

1982
1991
1994
1934

1991
1981
1976

1979

XI

Stronacu, N. R. H.; Streamstown, wEsTPorRT, Co. Mayo, Eire

Stuart, Dr S. N.; Species Survival Commission, IUCN, Avenue de Mont Blanc, CH 1196 GLanp,
Switzerland

SUMMERFIELD, Dr B. J.; 11a Avenue Gdns, MARGATE, Kent CT9 3BD

SumMeErs-Smi1TH, J. D.; Merlewood, The Avenue, GUISBOROUGH, Cleveland TS14 8EE

SuppLe-Kang, K. W.; CASTLE BELLINGHAM, Co. Louth, Eire

Swasu, A. R. H.; 1 Romans Gate, Pamber Heath, BasincstoKE, Hants RG26 6ERH

Tasot, G. J.; 58 Ash Close, swaFFHAM, Norfolk PE37 7NH

Tanner, A. R.; 24 Eustace Road, East Ham, LoNDoN, E6 3ND

Tate, P.; Half Acre, Rooks Hill, RICKMANSWORTH, Herts WD3 4H3 (Hon. Treasurer 1962-1974)

Taytor, P. B., Dept of Zoology, University of Natal, Private Bag X01-3209, South Africa

Terxerra, Prof. D. L. M.; Museu Nacional, Quinta da Boa Vista, Sao Cristovao, RIO DE JANEIRO, RJ CEP
20940, Brazil

TurpauLt, J.-C.; La Bergerie, 20253 PATRIMONIO, France

Turepe, Dr W.; An der Ronne 184, D-50859 k6LN, Germany

Tuomas, Mrs B. T.; Waterfield, Route 1 Box 212c, CASTLETON VA 22716, USA

Tuomas, Dr D. H.; School of Biology, University of Wales at Cardiff, PO Box 915, carpiFF CF1 3TL

Tuompson, K. V.; Primrose Bank, Gagerhill Lane, Brighstone, NEwport, Isle of Wight FO30 4DX

THOMPSON, P.; Middlesex Polytechnic, Queensway, ENFIELD, Middx EN3 4SF

Tromis, W. He - Curator, Lotherton Hall Bird Garden, ‘Towton Road, Nr Abberford, LEEDS L825 3EB

Topp, D.; Trezise, St Martin, HELSTON, Cornwall TR12 6EF

Topp, Ww. 1521 Missouri Apt 2, Houston, TX 77006-2525, USA

Tomutns, A. D.; 29 Gerard Road, Barnes, LONDON SW13 9RQ

Tostain, O.; BP44, 97321 caYENNE Cedex, French Guiana

Toyne, E. P.; 2 Cypress Road, NEwport, Isle of Wight PO30 1EX

TrayLor, Major M. A.; Birds Division, Field Museum of Natural History, cH1caco, IL 60605, USA

Troy, D. L.; Troy Ecological Res. Assoc., 2322 E 16th Arc., ancHoRAGE AK 99500, USA

Tsar, H.-Y.; 61 Chengtai Road Sec 2, Wuku Hsian, TAIPEI HSIEN 248, Taiwan

Tucker, J. J.; 13 Brook Road, poNTEsBURY, Shropshire SY4 30U

Tucker, N. A.; 8 Julius Road, Bishopston, BRistoL, BS7 8EU

Tucker, W. T.; 61 Main St, kINGston, NH 03848-3209, USA

Turner, C. F.; Lakers, Church Road, St Johns, REDHILL, Surrey RH1 6QA

Turner, D. A.; PO Box 48019, NarroBI, Kenya

Tutak, H. T.; Hoensbroeckstraat 52, 3550 HEUSDEN-ZOLDER, Belgium

Tutt, D.; 21 Heron Close, Lower Halston, sITfTINGBOURNE, Kent ME9 7EF

Tye, Dr A.; 2 School Lane, King’s Ripton, HUNTINGDON, Cambs PE17 2NL

Urspan, Prof. E. K.; Dept of Biology, Augusta College, augusta GA 30910, USA
Uropiaces, C.; Ap. 17 P-58-B(IA), E-21760 Matalascanas, HUELVA, Spain

van den Bere, A. B.; Duinlustparkweg 98, 2082 EG saNnppoorTE-zuID, Netherlands

VERHAAGH, M.; Staatliches Museum fiir Naturkunde, Postfach 6209, D-76042 KARLSRUHE, Germany

Vivarasau, J. S.; Apartat de Correos 674, 08240 Manresa (BARCELONA), Spain

VINCENT, Col. J., M.B.E.; 42 Villiers Drive, Clarendon, PIETERMARITZBURG 3201, South Africa (Hon. Life
Member)

Viney, C. A.; 87 Mount Nicholson Gap, Stubbs Road, Hong Kong

VIoLanI, Dr C. G.; Via San Vittore 38/A, 20123, miLan, Italy

Voous, Prof. K. H.; V D Duyn Van Masdamlaan 28, EM HUIZEN NH, Netherlands

Wacker, R. L.; Mount Cottage, PANWICH, Derbyshire DE6 1QJ

1959-72, 1985— Watt, J. W.; 19 Tisdale Road, scarspaLe, NY 10583-5613, USA

1986
1968
1969
1991
1975
1984
1989
1985
1989
1981
1994
1986
1994
1975
1990
1986
1985
1973
1988
1987
1991
1984
1994
1989
1982
1987
1986
1951
1988
1989
1985

Wavms-Ley, M. A.; Woodpeckers, Broughton, FORDINGBRIDGE, Hants SO20 8BD

Watsu, Dr J. F.; 80 Arundel Road, LyTHAM ST ANNES, Lancs FY8 1BN

Watters, M. P.; Sub-Dept of Ornithology, British Museum (Natural History), TRING, Herts HP23 6AP
Watters, R.; 23 Windsor Park Road, HARLINGTON, Middx UB3 5HZ

WaruHamM, Dr J.; 14 Konini Street, CHRISTCHURCH 4, New Zealand

Warr, Mrs F. E.; 6 Mansion Drive, TRING, Herts HP23 5BD

Warren, R. A.; 45 Arkwright Road, Irchester, WELLINGBOROUGH, Northants NN9 7EE
WarRINER, R. E.; 9 Bucklands View, Nailsea, BRISTOL BS19 2TZ

Waters, Prof. W. E.; Orchards, Broxmore Park, Sherfield English, Nr Romsey, Hants SO51 6FT
WatLinc, Dick Ph.D.; Box 2041, Government Buildings, suva, Fiji

Warto ra, G. V.; 101 Eleanor Drive, HARROGATE HG2 7AW

Wesster, B. D.; 49 Broadlands, Brixworth, NORTHAMPTON NN6 9BH

Wesster, R. E.; 771 Gage Dr., san p1EGO, CA 92106, USA

WELLs, Dr D. R.; Dept of Zoology, University of Malaya, 59100 KuaLa LUMPUR, Malaysia
WENDEBY, J.; Banersgatan 14, S-41503, GOTHENBURG, Sweden

WESTOLL, J.; Dykeside, Longtow, CARLISLE, Cumbria CA6 5ND

WHEATLEY, J. J.; 6 Boxgrove Avenue, GUILDFORD, Surrey GU1 1XG

WHEELER, C. E.; 3 Woodhurst Close, Cuxton, ROCHESTER, Kent (Committee 1975-1979)
WHELLER, Mrs G. F.; 15B Indian Road, KENILWORTH 7700, South Africa
WHEELER-HOLOHAN, B. J.; 38 Oregon Square, ORPINGTON, Kent BR6 8BQ

Wuitt-es, C. J.; 19 Sandygate Avenue, The Farthings, sHREwsBURY, Shropshire
WiersMaA, L. J.; Singel 282, 3311 HK porprecuT, Netherlands

Wiccins, Dr D. A.; Grenavej 12, Kalo, DK-8410 ronpE, Denmark

WILKINSON, Sir Denys, F.R.S.; Gayles Orchard, Friston, EASTBOURNE, Sussex BN20 0BA
WILKINSON, Dr R.; 2 Weston Grove, UPTON-BY-CHESTER, Cheshire CH2 1Q]J

WILKINSON, Sir WILLIAM; 119 Castelnau, Barnes, LONDON, SW1 9EL

Witiiams, Dr E. J.; 24 Birkett Drive, ULVERSTON, Cumbria LA12 9LS

Wicuiams, J. G.; 14 Tyne Road, oakHam, Rutland LE15 6SJ

Wituiams, K. F.; 11 Gable Closes, DAVENTRY, Northants NN11 4EX

Wixtiams, R. G.; 2 Milwain Road, sTRETFORD, Manchester M32 9BY

Witson, H. E.; PO Box 10463, MARINE PARADE 4056, South Africa

Xil

1976 Witson, R. 'T.; Bartridge House, UMBERLEIGH, Devon EX7 9AS

1987 WINFIELD, K. W.; 7 Burlington Road, sKEGNEss, Lincs PE25 2EW

1976 Woop, Dr J. B.; Ecology and Conservation Unit, Biology Dept, University College London, Gower Street,
LONDON, WCIE 6BT i

1990 Woop, K. P.; Woodnorton, Stone Cross Road, MAYFIELD, E. Sussex TN20 6EJ

1985 Woop, V. J.; PO Box 401, paLBy, Queensland 4405, Australia

1961 Woopcock, M. W.; The Fives, Elderden Farm, Staplehurst, TONBRIDGE, Kent TIN12 ORN (Hon. Secretary
1965-1969)

1987 Woops, R. W.; 68 Aller Park Road, NEWTON aBBOT, Devon TW124NQ

1984 Woopson, J. L.; 410 North 600 East, Locan, Utah 84321, USA

1983 Wricut, A. A.; 7 Fairhurst Drive, Parbold, wican, Lancs WN8 7DJ

1994 Wynn, D. E.; 303 S Otterbein Ave., WESTERVILLE, OH 43081, USA

1993 Younc, Ms B. S.; c/o RSPB, The Lodge, sanpy, Beds SG19 2DL
1990 Younc, H. G.; Downstairs Flat, Stathyre, rue Piéce de Mauger, sT saviour, Jersey, Channel Islands

1988 ZIEGLER, A. P.; Titcombs, Sheep Street, BURFORD, OX8 4LT

1963 Ziswiter, Prof. Dr V.; Zurich University Zoological Museum, Kunstlergasse 16, CH 8006 zuricn,
Switzerland

1973 ZONFRILLO, B.; 28 Brodie Road, GLascow G21 3SB

LIST OF AUTHORS AND CONTENTS

ALLAN, D. see HERREMANS, M.
BARAJAS, F. C. & PHILLIPS, A. R. A Haplospiza finch in western Mexico; the

lessonstof an emiemaa 82) CGH meh lIlt (oT eas oom Min ine Cone O00 te ARNE 36
BECKING, J. H. On the biology of the Javan Scops Owl Otus angelinae....... 211
BOORSERE CEIVED esky sepia ARs ei iste onda cath ea ea 134, 279
BRUDERER, B. & BRUDERER, H. Numbers of Red-backed Shrikes Lanius

collurio in different habitats of South Africa .........00 0000000000 eee eee 192

BRUDERER, H. see BRUDERER, B.

CANE, W. P. see DICKERMAN, R. W.

CARTER, M. F. see DICKERMAN, R. W.

CHAPMAN, A. see DICKERMAN, R. W.

CLANCEY, P. A. The austral races of the Afrotropical Fiery-necked Nightjar

Caprimulgusipectoralis, Cuvier, VOlG ton Wash ee ca ne are te at ev ERREaE a 48
——An additional subspecies of the Croaking Cisticola from the temperate

uplands: ofisouthermAtrica soe Ue Oe ese iy ucicih, AA ease 86
—Subspeciation in Erythropygia coryphoeus (Vieillot) of the Southwest Arid

ZOme Ob A Pray ica rie teciaiibs cg aN U etai e Uges a ile TEr eeae8 aac aa ae 224
—The type-locality of Nectarinia senegalensis gutturalis (Linnaeus), 1766...... 278
CLUB NOTICES

AGCOUTItS DURE me tae eps tal an ete i apes Rea har GA teeter PSU Vie 140

Annual (GeneralyiVleeting nel diZays 94k ee NET Teh RE ay Rtn ae 137

IY Kereta Vex Mie ROU ete cued Suter ny tetsu cine nema cl Kreg Beco raya tA fe een 3, 65, 138, 209

Report'of the Conamiitteestor 9 93ers Ey Ma | naeoer due Mees eal ene Nie Ine a 1

COLLINS, C. T. see WIMER, M. C.
DAVIS, S. E., ROCHA O., O., SARMIENTO, J. & HANAGARTH, W. New

departmental records and notes for some Bolivian birds................... 73
DAVIS, S. E. & FLORES, E. First record of White-winged Nightjar Caprimulgus

CONG Cans fOr Olivas Wine Me cea uep set ep Ay ase Cour ee ean eooe ese ae te eee eee 127
DICKERMAN, R. W. Notes on birds from Africa with descriptions of three new

SUDSPECTES sre sulci le ci ue CRORE YEN Jae otra sb CIS) AAI Re See Weer Hin Rae ROR Ra 274
DICKERMAN, R. W., CANE, W. P., CARTER, M. F., CHAPMAN, A. &

SCHMITT, C. G. Report on three collections of birds from Liberia....... 267
ERRITZOE, J. First record of the Dunlin from the Philippines............... 128

FLORES, E. see DAVIS, S.E.
FRITH, C. B. & FRITH, D. W. Discovery of nests and an egg of Loria’s Bird of

Paradise Cnemophilus (Loria) loriae (Paradisaeidae) ............0..0 0000s 182
FRITH, D. W. see FRITH, C.'B.
GAITHER, Jr., J. C. Weights of Bornean understory birds.................-. 89
GARGALLO, G. On the taxonomy of the western Mediterranean islands
population of Subalpine Warbler Sylvia cantillans.............0.0 04. eee 31

GERLOFF, J. see MAYR, E.

X111

GIBBS, D. Undescribed taxa and new records from the Fakfak Mountains, Irian
ENE b acs ests ny a ss Cla Seen ea ee a Un rR, Bieehs eee ena ao ena ea Ls ACA UR Ue

GREGORY, P. Notes on new and scarce birds in the Falkland Islands 1988-90.

HAN AGARTH, W. see DAVIS, S. E.

HAWKINS, F. Black-naped Tern Sterna sumatrana in Madagascar............

HERREMANS, M. Major concentration of River Warblers Locustella fluviatilis
WITtERIN ghimen OTtlvenm: OCS WaT a iee-j sn: ceyy- geeky Snhes cuatro Ect

HERREMANS, M., HUNTER, N. D. & ALLAN, D. The display of the
Short-clawed Lark Certhilauda chuana and comments on the genus
(CCA TITS wr 5 te 6-8 6 OE OO OO OE Sts MAURO Ea AEC ULM an es

HERROELEN, P. see LOUETTE, M.

HIRSCHFELD, E. see MARTINS, R. P.

HOOGENDOORN, W. Laughing Gull Larus atricilla and Franklin‘s Gull L.
pipixcan in the Deve orneNo Amides cid Se Re Sa PO AE IRL ele I Roane

HOWELL, S. N. G. & WEBB, S. Additional information on the birds ‘of
Gwenreros INIEXICOVES = EE RAE IO. Sn Fo th. eR AE a Mea ER OER Fes oe

HUNTER, N. D. see HERREMANS, M.

JEFFCOTE, M. T. see TOYNE, E. P.

KANG, N. see LEE, P. G.

KING, J. R. An undescribed plumage character of the Irish Coal Tit Parus ater
Pt berreveras yas y fesse ade ons ae ba ERs NST BRD ORE SEWED ELEM ERE ORE

KRABBE, N. & SORNOZA, M. F. Avifaunistic results of a subtropical camp in
the Cordillera del Condor, southeastern Ecuador..........0.0...000 0.0.0.0.

LEE, P. G. & KANG, N. The reproductive strategies of edible-nest swiftlets
(CAlerod ramiesss pps) ee Wee car stecct crete te tev chest ce ok NN ee Ss TORRE TNO) PRs LE

LOUETTE, M. & HERROELEN, P. A revised key for Cercococcyx cuckoos,
taxonomic status of C. montanus patulus and its occurrence in Zaire........

McGOWAN, P .J. K. & PANCHEN, A. L. Plumage variation and geographical
distribution im Walizandssilvermheasantspeeu meee eee cio cela

MACK, A. L. Notes on the nests and eggs of some birds at the Crater Mountain
Research stationyeapualNew. Guimeav eye Shr Pape aac eel eee

MARANTZ, C. A. & REMSEN, J. V. Jr. First records of Hangaqa cyanicollis
melanogaster fromeBolivaay es). aes hy ARV AR NOE CATED PORN Seer

MARTI, F. M. see TEIXEIRA, D. M.

MARTIN, C. G. C., UNDERHILL, G. D. & UNDERHILL, L. G. Garden
W. arblers Sylvia borin in the southw estern Cape Province, South Africae. %

MARTINS, R. P. & HIRSCHFELD, E. Where are the limits of the Western
Paleancticreeey. iy: | ee RAAT SE RSENS) os ssl BO ae ee ae eg a) Ae a

MAYR, E. & GERLOFF, J. The number of subspecies of birds .....3.\.0.0..

MOYER, D. C. & SCHULENBERG, T. S. First record of the Chirping Cisticola
Gishcola piprens fromeburunding. oe es. - cgisiecds cote cine ca inte ee

NACINOVIC, J. B. see TEIXEIRA, D. M.

OLSON, S. L. Cranial osteology of Tawny and Steppe Eagles Aquila rapax and
TARP al ensisY SELON e SZENA ROR. Sais la cue e cic teney cla) Rae ASME OSEAN

PANCHEN, A. L. see McGOWAN, P. J. K.

PHILLIPS, A. R. A review of the northern Pheucticus grosbeaks..............

See BAR AJAS, F. C.

See VILLASENOR, J. F

POTAPOV, E. R. Birds of the Lower Kolyma River, northeast Siberia ........

REMSEN, J. V. Jr. see MARANTZ, C. A.

RENJIFO M., L. M. First records of the Bay-vented Cotinga Doliornis sclateri in
Golombia® ineveiisoeiahl: wretches. Leek eiirens thoes Wee REO eres

RINKE, D. R. Again: the English name of Gallicolumba stairit..........0..0...

ROBERTSON, C. J. R. & WARHAM, J. Measurements of Diomedea exulans
antipodensissand DME watbsOnined. AO. Spimeie ica: @. cet: ek tS OR ee Ds

ROCHA, O. see DAVIS, S. E.

ROWLETT, J. L. see WHITNEY, B. M.

ROWLETT, R. A. see WHITNEY, B. M.

RYALL, C. Recent extensions of range in the House Crow Corvus splendens ....

SARMIENTO, J. see DAVIS, S. E.

SCHMITT, C. G. see DICKERMAN, R. W.

SCHULENBERG, T. S. see MOYER, D. C.

206
232

230

104

207
244

63

264
162

66

101

130
132

90

XIV

SOMADIKARTA, S. The identity of the Marquesan Swiftlet Collocalia ocista
Oberholser wt Meu NAMB Dil, SRT Als Selo) Mi Ree ela A) ihe bie eee ee

SORNOZA, M. F. see KRABBE, N.

STRAUBE, F. C. On the validity of Anumbius annumbi machrisi Stager, 1959
(Furnaritdae: TAsyes) eet tee ep re ye iit ann Dea RR Salaries fos Oe a cael me

STUDER, A. & TEITXEIRA, D. M. Notes on the Buff-fronted Owl Aegolius
harrisiani Brazile he Mey MeO) iE eR AES aN ree coin iy 8d

TEIXEIRA, D. M., NACINOVIC, J. B. & MARTI, F. M. Notes on the

Black-throated Antwren Myrmeciza atrothorax and Spot-breasted Antwren

IV stietothoran tm Brazillia oy Sane Nn LE eee ee ae

See STUDER, A.

TOYNE, E. P. & JEFFCOTE, M. T. Nesting records of Pionus species in
southernJB cuado reread cs nish ete Ry ay hea 0 AS pa ce

UNDERHILL, G. D. see MARTIN, C. G. C.

UNDERHILL, L. G. see MARTIN, C. G. C.

VILLASENOR, J. F. & PHILLIPS, A. R. A new, puzzling, American route of
the Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea, and its implications ...................

WARHAM, J. see ROBERTSON, C. J. R.

WEBB, S. see HOWELL, S. N. G.

WHITNEY, B. M., ROWLETT, J. L. & ROWLETT, R. A. Distributional and
other noteworthy records for some Bolivian birds..................02000.

WHITTINGHAM, M. J. Observations at a nest of the Pacific Royal Flycatcher
Onychorhynchus coronatus occidentalis! pissjcenh ced ols). es ee

WIMER, M. C. & COLLINS, C. T. Natal pterylosis of some neotropical
thrushes ((Muscicapidaes(Murdinae) oii Scoala talc i al

ZHATKANBAYEV, A. H. The present state of pelican populations (Pelecanus
onocrotalus andi Ps crispus) in Kazakhstani, souks. Ok Gon ees See

INDEX TO SCIENTIFIC NAMES
(Compiled by Mary N. Muller)

259

46
62

20

124

249

149

All generic and specific names (of birds only) are indexed. New subspecific names are indexed

in bold print under generic, specific and subspectfic names.

abeillei, Coccothraustes 163 — melanotis 11
abnormis, Sasia 89 Ajaja ajaja 16
Accipiter gentilis 70 ajaja, Platalea 75

— novaehollandiae 9 alario, Serinus 105

— poliocephalus 9 alba, Calidris 18, 71
Aceros plicatus 9 — , Motacilla 69
Acestrura mulsant 80 =) eoliyto. 12!)1 9452 21
Acrocephalus palustris 25 albertisi, Epimachus 11

— schoenobaenus 271 albertisii, Gymnophaps 9

acuminata, Calidris 71
acuta, Anas 69
adamsii, Gavia 69
Adelomyia melanogenys 61
Aechmophorus clarki 234
— occidentalis 234
aegithaloides, Leptasthenura 155
Aegithalos caudatus 32
Aegolius harrisii 62
Aerodramus spp. 106-12, 259
— fuciphagus 106-12
— maximus 106-12
Aethopyga mystacalis 90
afer, Turtur 274
africanoides, Mirafra 28
africanus, Caprimulgus 50
Aglaiocercus kingi 61
Ailuroedus buccoides 181

albescens, Certhilauda 27—9
albicilla, Haliaeetus 70
albicollis, Turdus 170-3
albifrons, Anser 69
albipectus, Pyrrhura 57, 59, 61
albitarsus, Ciccaba 154
albofasciata, Chersomanes 29-30
albogulare, Malacopteron 90
albolimbata, Rhipidura 10
albonotatus, Buteo 151
albus, Casmerodius 74, 150
Alcedo cristata 270

— leucogaster 275

— meninting 89
Aleadryas rufinucha 10
alexandrinus, Charadrius 236
Alisterus amboinensis 9
alnorum, Empidonax 82

alpina, Calidris 71, 128-9
Amaurospiza concolor 242
Amazilia violiceps 239
Amazona mercenaria 61
Amblyornis sp. 8

— inornatus 6, 8
amboinensis, Alisterus 9

— , Macropygia 9, 181
americana, Recurvirostra 236

Ammodramus sandwichensis 40

Ampelion 101
— rubrocristatus 102, 158
— rufaxilla 83, 158

Anabacerthia striaticollis 61, 156

analis, Iridosornis 61
Anas acuta 69

— clypeata 70

— crecca 69

— cyanoptera 16, 254-5

— discors 255

— formosa 69

— penelope 69

— platalea 17

— platyrhynchos 16
Andropadus importunus 65
angelinae , Otus 211-24
angolensis, Monticola 172

— , Oryzoborus 61
Anhinga anhinga 74
Anisognathus flavinucha 61
annumbi, Anumbius 46-7
anomalus, Eleothreptus 128
Anser albifrons 69

— anser 16

— erythropus 69

— fabalis 69
antarctica, Pygoscelis 13

— , Thalassoica 14
Anisognathus flavinucha 61
Anthreptes pallidigaster 65
Anthus 28

— cervinus 69

— leucophrys 28

— similis 28

— sokokensis 65

— vaalensis 28
antisianus, Pharomachrus 61
Anumbius annumbi 46-7
Aphelocoma unicolor 241
Aquila audax 266

— chrysaetos 266

— fasciata 266

— gurneyi 266

— nipalensis 264-6

— rapax 264-6

— verreauxii 266

— wahlbergi 266
aquila, Eutoxeres 61
Ara chloroptera 78
Arachnothera longirostra 90
Aratinga aurea 62

— leucophthalmus 124-6

— solstitialis 62
Archilochus calliope 240
arctica, Gavia 68
arcuata, Pipreola 159
Ardea cocoi 15
Arenaria interpres 70
argentatus, Larus 69, 205

arfakianus, Sericornis 10, 178, 181

Arses telescophthalmus 10
Artamus maximus 11
arthus, Tangara 61
Asio flammeus 71, 78
assimilis, Puffinus 15
Asthenes humilis 156
ater, Daptrius 76

— , Melipotes 6

— , Parus 17455
aterrimus, Probosciger 9
Atlapetes brunneinucha 61
atra, Rhipidura 10
atratus, Coragyps 76
atricilla, Larus 206-7
atrothorax, Myrmeciza 20-3
atrovarius, Caprimulgus 50
Atthis heloisa 240
Attila spadiceus 82
audax, Aquila 266

Aulacorhynchus prasinus 61, 241

aura, Cathartes 151

aurantioatrocristatus, Empidonomus 158

aurea, Aratinga 62

aureliae, Haplophaedia 61, 155
auriculata, Zenaida 19
aurifrons, Bolborhynchus 153
axillaris, Monarcha 10

ayresii, Cisticola 64

Aythya marila 69

badia, Halcyon 269

badia obscuridorsalis, Halcyon subsp.

nov. 269-70

bairdii, Calidris 18, 153
bakkamoena, Otus 223
Bartramia longicauda 152
Baryphthengus martii 80
Basileuterus tristriatus 61
Batis mixta 65
beauharnaesu, Pteroglossus 80
belcheri, Pachyptila 14
bengalensis, Sterna 130
benjamini, Urosticte 61
bennetti, Casuarius 177
bernicla, Branta 69, 250
bewickii, Cygnus 69
bicolor, Dendrocygna 150

— , Trichastoma 90
bidentata, Piranga 242
bidentatus, Harpagus 234
Blythipicus rubiginosus 89
Boissonneaua matthewsii 61

boissonneautii, Pseudocolaptes 61

Bolborhynchus aurifrons 153

— lineola 153, 237

— orbygnesius 153
boliviana, Poospiza 160
borealis, Contopus 61
borin, Sylvia 25, 104—5
bourcierii, Eubucco 61
bouvronides, Sporophila 149, 160
brachylopha, Lophornis 232
brachyura, Chaetura 61
brachyurus, Buteo 235
Branta bernicla 69, 250
brasilianus, Phalacrocorax 74
bres, Criniger 89
brevicauda, Paradigalla 7-8
brevirostris, Rhynchocyclus 240
brooki, Otus 211
Brotogeris jugularis 237
bruyni, Grallina 180-1
brunneinucha, Atlapetes 61
brunnescens, Cisticola 64

— , Premnoplex 61
brunneus, Pycnonotus 89
Bubulcus ibis 16, 74
buccoides, Ailuroedus 181
buffoni, Circus 12, 17
burra, Certhilauda 27-9
Buteo albonotatus 151

— brachyurus 235

— lagopus 69

— magnirostris 61

— platypterus 151

— polyosoma 17

Cacatua galerita 9, 177, 181
Cacomantis castaneiventris 9

— merulinus 89

— variolosus 9
caerulea, Egretta 75

— , Halobaena 14
caeruleogrisea, Coracina 9, 178, 181
caerulescens, Chen 69
Calandrella cinerea 28
Calcarius lapponicus 69
Calendulauda 28
Calidris acuminata 71

— alba 18, 71

— alpina 71, 128-9

— bairdii, 18, 153

— ferruginea 71, 129

— fuscicollis 18

— himantopus 237

— miauri 254

— melanotos 69, 237

— minutilla 152

— minutus 71

— pusilla 254

— ruficollis 71

— temminckii 69
calliope, Archilochus 240

— , Stellula 240
calliparaea, Chlorochrysa 61

Calochaetes coccineus 61
Calyptomena viridis 89
Campephilus haematogaster 155

— pollens 155

— rubricollis 155
Campylopterus hemileucurus 239
canadensis, Grus 69
candicans, Caprimulgus 127-8
caniceps, Myiopagis 157
canigularis, Chlorospingus 61
canorus, Cuculus 71
cantillans, Sylvia 31-5
capensis, Zonotrichia 12, 20
capistratum, Pellorneum 90
Caprimulgus africanus 50

— atrovarius 50

— candicans 127-8

— climacurus 268

— fervidus 50

— fossii 49

— longirostris 79

— pectoralis 48-55
Caprimulgus pectoralis crepusculans

subsp. nov. 51-2

— sericocaudatus 73, 79

— shelleyi 51
carbo, Phalacrocorax 205
Carduelis flammea 69

— olivacea 61
caripensis, Steatornis 78
Carpodacus erythrinus 72
carunculata, Paradigalla 7-8
Casmerodius albus 74, 150
caspia, Sterna 237
castaneiventris, Cacomantis 9
Casuarius bennetti 177

— casuarius 5, 7
Catharacta chilensis 254

— lonnbergi 254

— maccormicki 18, 254

— skua 254
Cathartes aura 151
Catharus spp. 163

— dryas 40

— guttatus 43, 172

— minima 172

— ustulatus 172
caudata, Drymophila 61
caudatus, Aegithalos 32

— , Theristicus 12, 16
cayana, Piaya 61
Celeus torquatus 80
Centropus menbeki 9, 180
cephalotes, Myiarchus 61
Cercococcyx mechow1 144—7

— montanus 144-8

— olivinus 144-7
Cercotrichas 225

— podobe 225
certhia, Dendrocolaptes 240
Certhilauda albescens 27-9

— burra 27-9

Certhilauda chuana 27-30
— curvirostris 27-30
— erythrochlamys 27-9
cervinus, Anthus 69
Ceyx erithacus 89
— lecontei 269
— rufidorsus 89

Chaetorhynchus papuensis 11, 179, 181

Chaetura brachyura 61

— cinereiventris 61

— vyauxi 238
Chalcophaps indica 89

— stephani 9
chalybata, Manucodia 11
chalybea, Progne 83
Chamaepetes goudotii 61
Charadrius alexandrinus 236

— hiaticula 70

— morinellus 70

— wilsonia 236
Charmosyna placentis 181

— pulchella 9
Chauna torquata 76
Chen caerulescens 69
Chersomanes albofasciata 29-30
chilensis, Catharacta 254

— , Phoenicopterus 16

— , Vanellus 17
chimango, Milvago 17
Chlidonias niger 237
Chloephaga poliocephala 16
Chloroceryle inda 80
Chlorochrysa calliparaea 61
Chloropipo holochlora 61

— unicolor 61
Chloropsis cyanopogon 89
chloroptera, Ara 78
chloropus, Gallinula 77
Chlorospingus canigularis 61

— ophthalmicus 61
Chordeiles rupestris 79
chrysaetos, Aquila 266
chrysocephalus, Myiodynastes 61

Chrysococcyx flavigularis 268, 275
Chrysococcyx flavigularis parkesi

subsp. nov. 275

— meyeri 9
chrysocome, Eudyptes 13
chrysogaster, Gerygone 10
chrysolophus, Eudyptes 12-3
chrysomela, Monarcha 10
chrysopasta, Euphonia 84
chrysopeplus, Pheucticus 61
chrysopterus, Masius 61
chrysostoma, Diomedea 13
chuana, Certhilauda 27-30
Ciccaba albitarsus 154
Cicinnurus magnificus 11, 181

— regius 11
Ciconia maguari 75, 150
cinerascens, Fraseria 277

XVil

cinerascens ruthae, Fraseria subsp.

nov. 277

cinerea, Calandrella 28

— , Collocalia 260

, Gerygone 10

— , Procellaria 14
cinereiventris, Chaetura 61
cinereum, Malacopteron 90
cinereus, Coccyzus 154

— , Xenus 70
cinnamomea, Pyrrhomyias 61

cinnamomeipectus, Hemitriccus 58, 61
cinnamomeiventris, Ochthoeca 157

cinnamomeus, Crypturellus 233
Cinnycerthia peruana 61
Circus buffoni 12, 17
— cyaneus 70
Cisticola ayresii 64
— brunnescens 64
— erythrops 63
— galactotes 63
— natalensis 86-8

Cisticola natalensis vigilax subsp. nov.

— pipiens 63—4+
Clangula hyemalis 69
clarki, Aechmophorus 234
climacocerca, Hydropsalis 79
climacurus, Caprimulgus 268
clypeata, Anas 70
Cnemophilus 182-91

— loriae 189-91

— macgregoru 182-91
coccineus, Calochaetes 61
Coccothraustes abeillei 163
Coccyzus cinereus 154
cocoi, Ardea 15
Coeligena coeligena 61
Coereba flaveola 61
Colibri coruscans 61

— thalassinus 61
Colinus virginianus 40
Collocalia 259

— cinerea 260

— esculenta 9, 259

— francica 259

— gigas 259

— innominata 259

— leucophaea 259-62

— ocista 259-62

Collocalia ocista gilliardi subsp. nov.

262
— thespesia 260
— vanikorensis 9

Colluricincla megarhyncha 10, 181

collurio, Lanius 192-201
colma, Formicarius 74, 81

colstoni, Trochocercus nigromitratus

subsp. nov. 272
Columba larvata 268
— subvinacea 61
columbarius, Falco 70

XVI

Columbina picui 78
communis, Sylvia 25
concolor, Amaurospiza 242
concreta, Platysteira 271
Contopus borealis 61
Copsychus malabaricus 90

— pyrropygus 90
Coracina caeruleogrisea 9, 178, 181

— incerta 9

— montana 10
Coragyps atratus 76
coraya, Thryothorus 21
coronatus, Onychorhynchus 131-2
corone, Corvus 71, 205
coruscans, Colibri 61
Corvus corone 71, 205

— monedula 91

— splendens 90-9

— tristis 11, 177, 180-1
coryphoeus, Erythropygia 224-9
Corythornis cristata 270
Coscoroba coscoroba 16
Cracticus quoyi 180
Cranioleuca gutturata 80
Crateroscelis murina 10

— robusta 10
crecca, Anas 69
crepusculans, Caprimulgus pectoralis

subsp. nov. 51-2

Creurgops verticalis 61
Criniger bres 89

— olivaceus 270

— phaeocephalus 89
criniger, Hypsipetes 89

— , Setornis 89
crispus, Pelecanus 202-5
crissalis, Vermivora 241
cristata, Corythornis 270

— , Goura 9
cristatus, Pitohui 11, 178, 181
cruentata, Myzomela 11
Crypturellus cinnamomeus 233
Cuculus 146

— canorus 71
curvirostra, Loxia 255
curvirostris, Certhilauda 27—30
Cyanerpes cyaneus 241
cyaneus, Circus 70

— ,Cyanerpes 241
cyanicollis, Tangara 61, 230-1
Cyanocorax violaceus 74, 83

— ynceas 61
cyanoleuca, Notiochelidon 61
Cyanolyca mirabilis 240
cyanopogon, Chloropsis 89
cyanoptera, Anas 16, 254—5
cyanus, Peneothello 10
Cyclarhis gujanensis 61
Cygnus bewickii 69

— cygnus 69
Cymbilaimus lineatus 21, 73, 80
Cynanthus latirostris 239

Cypseloides niger 238
— rutilus 61, 154, 238
— senex 154

Dacelo gaudichaud 9
Dactylortyx thoracicus 235
Daptrius ater 76
debilis, Phyllastrephus 65
deglandi, Melanitta 70
deiroleucus, Falco 151
Dendrocolaptes certhia 240
Dendrocygna bicolor 150
desmarestii, Psittaculirostris 181
desolata, Pachyptila 14
Dicaeum pectorale 11
dichrous, Pitohui 10
difficilis, Empidonax 163
Diglossa glauca 61
Diomedea chrysostoma 13

— epomophora 13

— exulans 132-4
discors, Anas 255
Doliornis 101-3

— sclateri 101-3
dominica, Pluvialis 69, 152, 236
Doryfera ludoviciae 61
dougalli, Sterna 251-2
Dromococcyx phasianellus 238
dryas, Catharus 40
Drymophila caudata 61
Ducula pinon 9

— rufigaster 9

— zoeae 9
Dysithamnus mentalis 61, 81

Eclectus roratus 9, 181
Edithornis sylvestris 43
Egretta caerulea 75

- thula 16, 51, 150
eisentrauti, Melignomon 270
Elanoides forficatus 61
Elanus leucurus 234
elegans, Sterna 237
Eleothreptus anomalus 128
Emberiza pallasi 72

— pusilla 69
Empidonax alnorum 82

— difficilis 163

— occidentalis 163

Empidonomus aurantioatrocristatus 158

— varius 158
Enicurus leschenaulti 90

— ruficapillus 90
enucleator, Pinicola 72
Epimachus albertisi 11
epomophora, Diomedea 13
Ereunetes mauri 254

— pusilla 254
erithacus, Ceyx 89
erythrinus, Carpodacus 72
Erythrocercus holochlorus 65
erythrocercus, Philydor 61

erythrochlamys, Certhilauda 27—9

erythrogaster, Pitta 9
erythropleura, Ptiloprora 6
erythrops, Cisticola 63

erythroptera, Gallicolumba 131

— , Stachyris 90
erythropus, Anser 69

— , Tringa 69
Erythropygia 225

— coryphoeus 224—9

— galactotes 224—5

— paena 224-5
erythropygia, Pinarocorys 28
erythrotis, Grallaria 157
esculenta, Collocalia 9, 259
Eubucco bourcierii 61
Eucometis penicillata 84
Eudromias ruficollis 17
Eudyptes chrysocome 13

— chrysolophus 12-3

— pachyrhynchus 13

— robustus 12-3

— schlegeli 12-3

— sclateri 13
Euphonia chrysopasta 84

— xanthogaster 61
Euscarthmus meloryphus 82
eutilotus, Pycnonotus 89
Eutoxeres aquila 61
excubitor, Lanius 71
exilis, Indicator 270
exulans, Diomedea 132-4

fabalis, Anser 69
falcinellus, Limicola 71
Falco columbarius 70

— deiroleucus 151

— peregrinus 14, 70,

— rufigularis 76, 151, 235

— rusticolus 70

— sparverius 17

— tinnunculus 70
fasciata, Aquila 266
femoralis, Scytalopus 61
ferruginea, Calidris 71, 129
ferrugineus, Pitohui 11, 181
fervidus, Caprimulgus 50
fischeri, Somateria 70

— , Turdus 65
flammea, Carduelis 69
flammeus, Asio 71, 78
flava, Motacilla 69
flaveola, Coereba 61
flavicans, Myiophobus 61

flavigularis, Chrysococcyx 268, 275
flavigularis parkesi, Chrysococcyx

subsp. nov. 275
flavinucha, Anisognathus 61
flavipes, Notiochelidon 73, 83

— , Platycichla 170-3

flaviventer, Machaerirhynchus 178, 181

flavoviridis, Vireo 83

fluviatilis, Locustella 24-6
forficatus, Elanoides 61
Formicarius colma 74, 81

— rufipectus 61
formosa, Anas 69
forsteri, Sterna 250-3
fortis, Myrmeciza 22, 73, 81
fossil, Caprimulgus 49
francica, Collocalia 259
Fraseria cinerascens 277

Fraseria cinerascens ruthae subsp.

nov. 277

frater, Monarcha 10, 181
Frederickena unduligera 73, 81
Fregetta grallaria 15
frenata, Geotrygon 61
freycinet, Megapodius 181
Fringilla montifringilla 72
frontalis, Pipreola 61
fuciphagus, Aerodramus 106-12
fulgidus, Psittrichas 177, 181
Fulica leucoptera 12, 17
fulica, Heliornis 77
fulicarius, Phalaropus 69
fulvigula, Timeliopsis 11
fulviventris, Turdus 61
fulvogularis, Malacoptila 61
fumigatus, Melipotes 6

— , Turdus 170-3

— , Veniliornis 61
fusca, Nectarinia 105
fuscata, Pseudeos 9

— , Sterna 250
fuscicapillus, Zosterops 11
fuscicollis, Calidris 18

galactotes, Cisticola 63

— , Erythropygia 224-5
galerita, Cacatua 9, 177, 181
Gallicolumba erythroptera 131

— rubescens 131

— stairi 130-1
Gallinago gallinago 69

— stenura 71
Gallinula chloropus 77
Garrodia nereis 15
gaudichaud, Dacelo 9
Gavia adamsii 69

— arctica 68

— pacifica 69

— stellata 68
gentilis, Accipiter 70
georgicus, Pelecanoides 12, 15
Geotrygon frenata 61
Gerygone chrysogaster 10

— cinerea 10

— palpebrosa 10

— ruficollis 10
gigantea, Melampitta 5
giganteus, Macronectes 14

XX

gigas, Collocalia 259 harrisil, Aegolius 62
— , Hydrochous 221 Heliangelus regalis 59
gilliardi, Collocalia ocista subsp. nov. _Heliodoxa leadbeateri 61
262 Heliornis fulica 77
gilvicollis, Micrastur 76 heloisa, Selasphorus 240
glareola, Tringa 70 hemileucurus, Campylopterus 239
glauca, Diglossa 61 Hemitriccus cinnamomeipectus 58, 61
Glaucidium minutissimum 78 — granadensis 58
— perlatum 199 Henicopernis longicauda 9
— tephronotum 268 Henicorhina leucophrys 59, 61
glaucoides, Larus 255 — leucoptera 58, 61
golandi, Ploceus 65 Herpsilochmus longirostris 73, 81
goudotii, Chamaepetes 61 — rufimarginatus 81
Goura cristata 9 hiaticula, Charadrius 70
Grallaria erythrotis 157 Himantopus mexicanus 77, 236
— guatimalensis 157 himantopus, Calidris 237
— haplonota 61 Hippolais icterina 25
— hypoleuca 61 hirundinacea, Sterna 18
grallaria, Fregetta 15 Hirundo rustica 19, 71, 160
Grallina bruiyjni 180-1 hirundo, Sterna 18, 130, 250-2, 256
granadensis, Hemitriccus 58 holochlora, Chloropipo 61
grandis, Nyctibius 78 holochlorus, Erythrocercus 65
gravis, Puffinus 14 humilis, Asthenes 156
grisegena, Podiceps 69 huttoni, Vireo 40
griseicapillus, Sittasomus 61 Hydrochous 259
griseiceps, Myrmeciza 22 — gigas 221
— , Pachycephala 10 Hydropsalis climacocerca 79
griseoceps, Microeca 10 hyemalis, Clangula 69
griseus, Puffinus 15 Hylocichla mustelina 172
grossus, Pitylus 61 Hyloctistes subulatus 61
Grus canadensis 69 hyperboreus, Larus 69, 255
— leucogeranus 70 hyperythra, Myrmeciza 81
gualaquizae, Pogonotriccus 61 — , Rhipidura 181
guatimalensis, Grallaria 157 hypoleuca, Grallaria 61
gujanensis, Cyclarhis 61 — , Poecilodryas 10
gunningi, Sheppardia 65 Hypsipetes criniger 89
gurneyi, Aquila 266 — malaccensis 89
guttatus, Catharus 43, 172 hypochondria, Poospiza 160
guttulus, Monarcha 10, 181 Hypogramma hypogrammicum 90
gutturata, Cranioleuca 80 hypogrammicum, Hypogramma 90
guy, Phaethornis 61
Gymnophaps albertisii 9 ibis, Bubulcus 16, 74
gymnops, Melipotes 6 icterina, Hippolais 25
icterorhynchus, Otus 268
haematogaster, Campephilus 155 Ictinia plumbea 61
Halcyon badia 269 iliacus, Turdus 71
Halcyon badia obscuridorsalis subsp. iliolophus, Oedistoma 178, 181
nov. 269-70 — , Toxorhamphus 11
Haliaeetus albicilla 70 importunus, Andropadus 65
haliaetus, Pandion 70 incerta, Coracina 9
halli, Macronectes 13 inda, Chloroceryle 80
Halobaena caerulea 14 indica, Chalcophaps 89
Hapalopsittaca melanotis 153 Indicator exilis 270
haplonota, Grallaria 61 — willcocksi 270
Haplophaedia aureliae 61, 155 infaustus, Perisoreus 71
Haplospiza 36—44 innominata, Collocalia 259
— rustica 36-44, 160 inornatus, Amblyornis 6, 8
— unicolor 36-8 intermedia, Pipreola 159
Harpagus bidentatus 234 interpres, Arenaria 70
Harpia harpyja 76 : Irena puella 89

harpyja, Harpia 76 ireneae, Otus 65

Iridosornis analis 61
— jelskii 161
Ispidina lecontei 269

jamesoni, Parmoptila 273
jelskii, Iridosornis 161
jubata, Neochen 76
jugularis, Brotogeris 237

Kenopia striata 90
keraudreni, Manucodia 11
kingi, Aglaiocercus 61
kirhocephalus, Pitohui 10
kwalensis, Nyctisyrigmus 54

labradorides, Tangara 59, 61
Lacedo pulchella 89
Lagopus lagopus 69
lagopus, Buteo 69

— , Lagopus 69
Lanius collurio 192-201

— excubitor 71
lapponica, Limosa 71
lapponicus, Calcarius 69
Larus argentatus 69, 205

— atricilla 206-7

— glaucoides 255

— hyperboreus 69, 255

— leucopterus 255

— pipixcan 206-7

— ridibundus 71

— serranus 206
larvata, Columba 268
latirostris, Cynanthus 239
lawrencu, Turdus 73, 83
leadbeateri, Heliodoxa 61
lecontei, Ceyx 269
Lepidocolaptes souleyetii 240
Leptasthenura aegithaloides 155
leschenaulti, Enicurus 90
Lessonia rufa 19
leucogaster, Alcedo 275
leucogeranus, Grus 70
leucomelanos, Lophura 114-23
leucomelas, Turdus 170-3
leucophaea, Collocalia 259-62
leucophaeus, Macropteryx 260
leucophrys, Anthus 28

— Henicorhina 59, 61
leucophthalmus, Aratinga 124-6
leucops, Tregellasia 10
leucoptera, Fulica 12, 17

— , Henicorhina 58, 61

— , Piranga 61, 241

— , Spermagra 241
leucopterus, Larus 255
leucopyga, Nyctiprogne 73, 79

— , Tachycineta 19
leucostephes, Melidectes 11
leucurus, Elanus 234
libonyanus, Turdus 172-3
Lichenostomus obscurus 179, 181

Limicola falcinellus 71
Limnodromus scolopaceus 69
Limosa lapponica 71
lineatus, Cymbilaimus 21, 73, 80
lineola, Bolborhynchus 153, 237

— , Sporophila 160
lobatus, Phalaropus 69
Loboparadisea 182

— sericea 182, 190
Locustella fluviatilis 24—6
Lonchura tristissima 179, 181
longicauda, Bartramia 152

— , Henicopernis 9

— , Melanocharis 6
longicaudus, Stercorarius 69
longirostra, Arachnothera 90
longirostris, Caprimulgus 79

— , Herpsilochmus 73, 81
lonnbergi, Catharacta 254
Lophornis brachylopha 232
Lophotriccus pileatus 61
Lophura 113-23

— leucomelanos 114-23

— nycthemera 114-23
loriae, Cnemophilus 182-91
Lorius lory 9
lory, Lorius 9
Loxia curvirostra 255
lubomirsku, Pipreola 61
ludoviciae, Doryfera 61
ludovicianus, Pheucticus 162-8

ludovicianus rostratus, Pheucticus

subsp. nov. 167-8
lugubris, Melampitta 191
Lurocalis semitorquatus 73, 79
Luscinia svecica 69
luteiventris, Myiodynastes 82
Lymnocryptes minimus 71

maccormicki, Catharacta 18, 254
Macgregoria pulchra 182
macgregorii, Cnemophilus 182-191

— nigripectus 10
Macronectes giganteus 14
— halli 13
Macronous ptilosus 90
macroptera, Pterodroma 14
Macropteryx leucophaeus 260
Macropygia amboinensis 9, 181
— nigrirostris 9
macrorrhina, Melidora 9, 181
maculata, Stachyris 90
maculatus, Prionochilus 90
maculipectus, Phacellodomus 156
magellani, Pelecanoides 15
magnificus, Cicinnurus 11, 181
— , Ptilinopus 9
— , Ptiloris 11
magnirostris, Buteo 61
magnum, Malacopteron 90
maguari, Ciconia 75, 150

Machaerirhynchus flaviventer 178, 181

major, Podiceps 12-13
malabaricus, Copsychus 90
malaccense, T'richastoma 90
malaccensis, Hypsipetes 89
Malacopteron albogulare 90

— cinereum 90

— magnum 90
Malacoptila fulvogularis 61
Manucodia 191

— chalybata 11

— keraudreni 11
marila, Aythya 69
marti, Baryphthengus 80
martinica, Porphyrula 77
Masius chrysopterus 61
matthewsi1i, Boissonneaua 61
mauri, Calidris 254

— , Ereunetes 254
maximiliani, Melanopareia 157
maximus, Aerodramus 106-112

— Artamus 11
mceleodii, Nyctiphrynus 238
mechowi, Cercoccoccyx 144-7
Megapodius freycinet 181
megarhyncha, Colluricincla 10, 181
megarhynchus, Melilestes 11, 181
Meiglyptes tukki 89
Melampitta 191

— gigantea 5

— lugubris 191
melancholicus, Tyrannus 61
Melanitta deglandi 70
melanocephalus, Pheucticus 162-8
Melanocharis longicauda 6

— nigra 11, 181
melanogenys, Adelomyia 61
melanoleuca, Tringa 12, 18
Melanopareia maximiliani 157
melanotis, Ailuroedus 11

— , Hapalopsittaca 153
melanotos, Calidris 69, 237
melanura, Pyrrhura 60
Melidectes leucostephes 11
Melidora macrorrhina 9, 181
Melignomon eisentrauti 270
Melilestes megarhynchus 11, 181
Meliphaga mimikae 179, 181

— orientalis 179, 181
Melipotes sp. 6

= ater 6

— fumigatus 6

— gymnops 6
melodia, Melospiza 40
meloryphus, Euscarthmus 82
Melospiza melodia 40
menbeki, Centropus 9, 180
meninting, Alcedo 89
menstruus, Pionus 124-6
mentalis, Dysithamnus 61, 81
mercenaria, Amazona 61
Mergus serrator 69
Merops muelleri 276

XX11

— ornatus 9
merulinus, Cacomantis 89
mexicanus, Himantopus 77, 236
meyeri, Chrysococcyx 9
Micrastur gilvicollis 76

— ruficollis 61, 235
Microeca griseoceps 10

— papuana 10
migratorius, Turdus 172-3
Milvago chimango 17
mimikae, Meliphaga 179, 181
miniatus, Myioborus 61
minima, Catharus 172
minimus, Lymnocryptes 71
minor, Paradisaea 11
minutilla, Calidris 152
minutissimum, Glaucidium 78
minutus, Calidris 71
Mionectes olivaceus 61

— striaticollis 61
mirabilis, Cyanolyca 240
Mirafra 27-30

— africanoides 28

— somalica 30
Mitu tuberosa 77
mixta, Batis 65
mollis, Pterodroma 14
Monarcha axillaris 10

— chrysomela 10

— frater 10, 181

— guttulus 10, 181
monedula, Corvus 91
montagnil, Penelope 151
montana, Coracina 10
montanella, Prunella 71
montanus, Cercococcyx 144-8

— , Peltops 11, 181
Monticola angolensis 172
montifringilla, Fringilla 72
morinellus, Charadrius 70
Motacilla alba 69

— flava 69
muelleri, Merops 276
mulsant, Acestrura 80
multipunctata, Tyto 9
murina, Crateroscelis 10
mustelina, Hylocichla 172
Myadestes ralloides 61, 170-3
— townsendi 172
Myiarchus cephalotes 61
Myioborus miniatus 61
Myiodynastes chrysocephalus 61
— luteiventris 82
Myiopagis caniceps 157
Myiophobus flavicans 61
Myiotriccus ornatus 61
Myrmeciza atrothorax 20-3

— fortis 22, 73, 81

— griseiceps 22

— hyperythra 81

— stictothorax 20-3
Myrmotherula schisticolor 61

XX111

mystacalis, Aethopyga 90
mystaceus, Platyrinchus 61
Myzomela cruentata 11

— rosenbergii 11

namaqua, Pterocles 105
natalensis, Cisticola 86-8
natalensis vigilax, Cisticola subsp. nov.

naumanni, Turdus 71
Nectarinia fusca 105
— senegalensis 278
Neochen jubata 76
nereis, Garrodia 15
niger, Chlidonias 237
— , Cypseloides 238
, Rynchops 77
nigra, Melanocharis 11, 181
nigrescens, Pitohui 11
nigricans, Pinarocorys 28
nigricollis, Podiceps 234
— , Stachyris 90
nigripectus, Machaerirhynchus 10
nigrirostris, Macropygia 9
nigromitratus, Trochocercus 271-2
nigromitratus colstoni, Trochocercus
subsp. nov. 272
nigroviridis, Tangara 61
Ninox rufa 9
— theomacha 9
nipalensis, Aquila 264-6
nitens, Psalidoprocne 270
nivalis, Plectrophenax 72
nobilis, Otidiphaps 181
Notiochelidon cyanoleuca 61
— flavipes 73, 83
novaeguineae, Toxorhamphus 11
novaehollandiae, Accipiter 9
nudigenis, Turdus 170-2
Numentius phaeopus 17
Nyctea scandiaca 71
nycthemera, Lophura 114-23
Nyctibius grandis 78
Nycticorax nycticorax 75
Nyctiphrynus mcleodii 238
Nyctiprogne leucopyga 73, 79
Nyctisyrigmus kwalensis 54
nympha, Tanysiptera 9

obscuridorsalis, Halcyon badia subsp.
nov. 269-70
obscurus, Lichenostomus 179, 181
occidentalis, Aechmophorus 234
— , Empidonax 163
— , Onychorhynchus 131-2
ocellatus, Podargus 9
Ochthoeca cinnamomeiventris 157

ocista, Collocalia 259-62
ocista gilliardi, Collocalia subsp. nov.

Ocreatus underwoodii 61
Oedistoma iliolophus 178, 181
Oenanthe oenanthe 69
olivacea, Carduelis 61
olivaceus, Criniger 270

— | Mhonectes 61

— , Rhynchocyclus 82

— , Turdus 172-3
olivinus, Cercococcyx 144-7
onocrotalus, Pelecanus 202-5
Onychorhynchus coronatus 131-2

— occidentalis 131-2
ophthalmicus, Chlorospingus 61
orbygnesius, Bolborhynchus 153
orientalis, Meliphaga 179, 181
ornatus, Merops 9

— , Myiotriccus 61

— , Ptilinopus 9, 177, 181
Oryzoborus angolensis 61
Otidiphaps nobilis 181
Otus angelinae 211-23

— bakkamoena 223

— brook 211

— icterorhynchus 268

— ireneae 65

— petersoni 57, 61

— scops 221

— spilocephalus 211

Pachycephala griseiceps 10

— schlegeli 10

— soror 6
Pachycephalopsis poliosoma 181
Pachyptila belcheri 14

— desolata 14
Pachyramphus versicolor 158
pachyrhynchus, Eudyptes 13
pacifica, Gavia 69
paena, Erythropygia 224—5
pallasi, Emberiza 72
pallidigaster, Anthreptes 65
palpebrata, Phoebetria 13
palpebrosa, Gerygone 10
palustris, Acrocephalus 25
Pandion haliaetus 70
Panyptila sanctihieronymi 239
papa, Sarcoramphus 234
papuana, Microeca 10
papuensis, Chaetorhynchus 11, 179, 181
Paradigalla sp. 8

— brevicauda 7, 8

— carunculata 7, 8
Paradisaea minor 11
paradisaea, Sterna 18, 69, 249-56
paradisi, T’erpsiphone 90
parasiticus, Stercorarius 69
parkesi, Chrysococcyx flavigularis

subsp. nov. 275

Parmoptila jamesoni 273

— rubrifrons 272-3

— woodhousei 272-3
Parula pitiayumi 241
Parus ater 174-5
parzudakii, ‘Tangara 61
pectorale, Dicaeum 11
pectoralis, Caprimulgus 48-55

pectoralis crepusculans, Caprimulgus

subsp. nov. 51-2

Pelecanoides georgicus 12, 15

— magellani 15

— urinatrix 15
Pelecanus crispus 202—5

— onocrotalus 202-5
Pellorneum capistratum 90
Peltops montanus 11, 181
pelzelni, Pseudotriccus 61
Penelope montagnu 151
penelope, Anas 69
Peneothello cyanus 10
penicillata, Eucometis 84
peregrinus, Falco 14, 70
Perisoreus infaustus 71
perlata, Rhipidura 90
perlatum, Glaucidium 199
personatus, Trogon 61
perstriata, Ptiloprora 6
peruana, Cinnycerthia 61
petersoni, Otus 57, 61
Petrochelidon pyrrhonota 20
Phacellodomus maculipectus 156

— striaticollis 156
phaeocephalus, Criniger 89
phaeopus, Numenius 17
Phaethornis guy 61

— syrmatophorus 61
Phalacrocorax brasilianus 74

— carbo 205
Phalaropus fulicarius 69

— lobatus 69
Pharomachrus antisianus 61
phasianellus, Dromococcyx 238
Pheucticus 162-8

— chrysopeplus 61

— ludovicianus 162-8
Pheucticus ludovicianus rostratus

subsp. nov. 167-8

— melanocephalus 162-8
Philentoma pyrhopterum 90
Philomachus pugnax 69
Philydor erythrocercus 61
Phoebetria palpebrata 13
Phoenicopterus chilensis 16
Phyllastrephus debilis 65
Phylloscartes sp. 61

— superciliaris 61
Phylloscopus poliocephalus 10

— sibilatrix 271

— trochilus 25, 69
Phytotoma 101
Piaya cayana 61

XXIV

picta, Pyrrhura 78
picui, Columbina 78
Piculus rubiginosus 61
Picus viridis 11
pileatus, Lophotriccus 61
Pinarocorys erythropygia 28

— nigricans 28
Pinicola enucleator 72
pinon, Ducula 9
Pionus menstruus |24—6

— sordidus 61, 124-6
pipiens, Cisticola 63-4
Pipreola arcuata 159

— frontalis 61

— intermedia 159

— lubomirsku 61

— riefterii 61
pipixcan, Larus 206-7
Piranga bidentata 242

— leucoptera 61, 241
pitiayumi, Parula 241
Pitohui cristatus 11, 178, 181

— dichrous 10

— ferrugineus 11, 181

— kirhocephalus 10

— nigrescens 11
Pitta erythrogaster 9
Pitylus grossus 61
placens, Poecilodryas 10
placentis, Charmosyna 181
Platalea ajaja 75
platalea, Anas 17
Platycichla flavipes 170-3
platypterus, Buteo 151
Platyrinchus mystaceus 61

— platyrhynchos 82
platyrhynchos, Anas 16

— , Platyrinchus 82
Platysteira concreta 271
Plectrophenax nivalis 72
plicatus, Aceros 9
Ploceus golandi 65
plumbea, Ictinia 61

— , Ptiloprora 6

Pluvialis dominica 69, 152, 236 ifs

— squatarola 152
Podargus ocellatus 9
Podiceps grisegena 69

— major 12, 13

— nigricollis 234
podobe, Cercotrichas 225
Poecilodryas hypoleuca 10

— placens 10

poensis, Pycnonotus virens subsp. noy.

276
Pogonotriccus sp. 61
— gualaquizae 61
poliocephala, Chloephaga 16
poliocephalus, Accipiter 9
— , Phylloscopus 10
— , Tolmomyias 82

poliopterus, ‘Toxorhamphus 181

poliosoma, Pachycephalopsis 181 pytrhonota, Petrochelidon 20
pollens, Campephilus 155 Pyrrhura albipectus 57, 59, 61
polyosoma, Buteo 17 — melanura 60
Polysticta stelleri1 70 — picta 78
pomarinus, Stercorarius 71 pyrropygus, Copsychus 90
Poospiza boliviana 160

— hypochondria 160 quoyi, Cracticus 180

— whiti 160
Porphyrula martinica 77 ralloides, Myadestes 61, 170-3
prasinus, Aulacorhynchus 61, 241 rapax, Aquila 264-6
Premnoplex brunnescens 61 Recurvirostra americana 236
princei, Zoothera 271 regalis, Heliangelus 59
Prionochilus maculatus 90 regius, Cicinnurus 11
Probosciger aterrimus 9 Reinwardtoena reinwardtsi 9, 177, 181
Procellaria cinerea 14 reinwardtsi, Reinwardtoena 9, 177, 181
Progne chalybea 83 Rhinomyias umbratilis 90
promeropirhynchus, Xiphocolaptes 61 Rhipidura albolimbata 10
Prunella montanella 71 — atra 10
Psalidoprocne nitens 270 — hyperythra 181
Pseudeos fuscata 9 — perlata 90
Pseudocolaptes boissonneautii 61 — rufidorsa 10
Pseudotriccus pelzelni 61 — rufiventris 10

— simplex 157 Rhodostethia rosea 69
Psittaculirostris desmarestii 181 Rhynchocyclus brevirostris 240
Psittrichas fulgidus 177, 181 — olivaceus 82
Pterocles namaqua 105 ridibundus, Larus 71
Pterodroma macroptera 14 riefferu, Pipreola 61

— mollis 14 Riparia riparia 12, 20, 71, 159
Pteroglossus beauharnaesii 80 Rissa tridactyla 250
Ptilinopus magnificus 9 rivoh, Ptilinopus 9

— ornatus 9, 177, 181 robusta, Crateroscelis 10

— pulchellus 181 robustus, Eudyptes 12-3

— rivoli 9 roratus, Eclectus 9, 181

— superbus 9, 181 rosea, Rhodostethia 69
Ptiloprora sp. 6 rosenbergil, Myzomela 11

— erythropleura 6 rostratus, Pheucticus ludovicianus

— perstriata 6 subsp. nov. 167-8

— plumbea 6 Rostrhamus sociabilis 234
Ptiloris magnificus 11 rubescens, Gallicolumba 131
ptilosus, Macronous 90 rubiginosus, Blythipicus 89
puella, Irena 89 — , Piculus 61
Puffinus assimilis 15 rubricollis, Campephilus 155

— gravis 14 rubrifrons, Parmoptila 272-3

— griseus 15 rubrocristatus, Ampelion 102, 158

— puffinus 15 rufa, Lessonia 19
pugnax, Philomachus 69 — , Ninox 9
pulchella, Charmosyna 9 rufaxilla, Ampelion 83, 158

— , Lacedo 89 rufescens , Trichastoma 271
pulchellus, Ptilinopus 181 ruficapilla, Vermivora 241
pulchra, Macgregoria 182 ruficapillus, Enicurus 90
pusilla, Calidris 254 ruficollis, Calidris 71

— ,Emberiza 69 — , Eudromias 17

— , Ereunetes 254 — , Gerygone 10
Pycnonotus brunneus 89 — , Micrastur 61, 235

— eutilotus 89 rufidorsa, Rhipidura 10

— virens 276 rufidorsus, Ceyx 89
Pycnonotus virens poensis subsp. nov. _ rufigaster, Ducula 9

276 rufigularis, Falco 76, 151, 235

Pygoscelis antarctica 13 rufimarginatus, Herpsilochmus 81
pyrhopterum, Philentoma 90 rufinucha, Aleadryas 10
Pyrope pyrope 19 rufipectus, Formicarius 61

Pyrrhomyias cinnamomea 61 rufipennis, Trichastoma 271

rufiventris, Rhipidura 10
rufosuperciliata, Syndactyla 58, 61
rumicivorus, Thinocorus 18
rupestris, Chordeiles 79
rustica, Haplospiza 36—44, 160

— , Hirundo 19, 71, 160

— , Spodiornis 36-8
rusticolus, Falco 70

ruthae, Fraseria cinerascens subsp.

nov. 277
rutilans, Xenops 61
rutilus, Cypseloides 61, 154, 238
Rynchops niger 77

sabini, Xema 71
sanctihieronymi, Panyptila 239
sandvicensis, Sterna 18
sandwichensis, Ammodramus 40
Sarcoramphus papa 234
Sasia abnormis 89
savana, Tyrannus 19, 158
Saxicola torquata 71
scandiaca, Nyctea 71
Schiffornis turdinus 61
schistacea, Sporophila 84
schisticolor, Myrmotherula 61
schlegeli, Eudyptes 12-3
schlegelii, Pachycephala 10
schoenobaenus, Acrocephalus 271
sclateri, Doliornis 101-3

— , Eudyptes 13
scolopaceus, Limnodromus 69
scops, Otus 221
Scytalopus femoralis 61
Selasphorus heloisa 240
semicollaris, Streptoprocne 239
semitorquatus, Lurocalis 73, 79
senegalensis, Nectarinia 278
sepiarium, Trichastoma 90
sericea, Loboparadisea 182-90
sericocaudatus, Caprimulgus 73, 79
Sericornis arfakianus 10, 178, 181

— spilodera 10

— virgatus 10
Serinus alario 105
serranus, Larus 206
serrator, Mergus 69
Setornis criniger 89
senex, Cypseloides 154
shelleyi, Caprimulgus 51
Sheppardia gunningi 65
sibilatrix, Phylloscopus 271
similis, Anthus 28
Simoxenops striatus 156

— ucayalae 156
simplex, Pseudotriccus 157
Sittasomus griseicapillus 61
skua, Catharacta 254
sociabilis, Rostrhamus 234
sokokensis, Anthus 65
solitaria, Tringa 77
solstitialis, Aratinga 62

XXV1

— , Troglodytes 61
somalica, Mirafra 30
Somateria fischeri 70

— spectabilis 69
sordidus, Pionus 61, 124-6
soror, Pachycephala 6
souleyetii, Lepidocolaptes 240
spadiceus, Attila §2
sparverius, Falco 17
spectabilis, Somateria 69
Spermagra leucoptera 241
spilocephalus, Otus 211
spilodera, Sericornis 10
Spizaetus tyrannus 235
splendens, Corvus 90-9
Spodiornis rustica 36-8
Sporophila bouvronides 149, 160

— lineola 160

— schistacea 84
Squatarola squatarola 69
squatarola, Pluvialis 152
Stachyris erythroptera 90

— maculata 90

— nigricollis 90
stair1, Gallicolumba 130-1
Steatornis caripensis 78
stellata, Gavia 68
stelleri, Polysticta 70
Stellula calliope 240
stenura, Gallinago 71
stepheni, Chalcophaps 9
Stercorarius longicaudus 69

— parasiticus 69

— pomarinus 71
Sterna bengalensis 130

— caspia 237

— dougalli 251-2

— elegans 237

— forster1 250-3

— fuscata 250

— hirundinacea 18

— hirundo 18, 130, 250-2, 256

— paradisaea 18, 69, 249-56

— sandvicensis 18

— sumatrana 130, 256

— vittata 18
sterrhopteron, Wetmorethraupis 60
stictothorax, Myrmeciza 20-3
Streptoprocne semicollaris 239

— zonaris 61, 238
striata, Kenopia 90
striaticollis, Anabacerthia 61, 156

— , Mionectes 61

— , Phacellodomus 156
striatus, Simoxenops 156
Sturnus vulgaris 66
subalaris, Syndactyla 58, 61
subruficollis, Tryngites 153
subulatus, Hyloctistes 61
subvinacea, Columba 61
sumatrana, Sterna 130, 256
superbus, Ptilinopus 9, 181

superciliaris, Phylloscartes 61
svecica, Luscinia 69
sylvestris, Edithornis 43
Sylvia borin 25, 104—5
— cantillans 31-5
— communis 25
Syma torotoro 9
Synallaxis unirufa 61
Syndactyla rufosuperciliata 58, 61
— subalaris 58, 61
syrmatophorus, Phaethornis 61

Tachycineta leucopyga 19
Tangara arthus 61

— cyanicollis 61, 230-1

— labradorides 59, 61

— nigroviridis 61

— parzudakii 61

— xanthocephala 61
Tanysiptera nympha 9
tao, Tinamus 74
telescophthalmus, Arses 10
temminckii, Calidris 69
tephronotum, Glaucidium 268
Terpsiphone paradisi 90
thalassinus, Colibri 61
Thalassoica antarctica 14
Thamnophilus unicolor 61
theomacha, Ninox 9
Theristicus caudatus 12, 16
thespesia, Collocalia 260
Thinocorus rumicivorus 18
thoracicus, Dactylortyx 235
Thripadectes sp. 61
thula, Egretta 16, 75, 150
Thryothorus coraya 21
Timeliopsis fulvigula 11
Tinamus tao 74
tinnunculus, Falco 70
Tolmomyias poliocephalus 82
torotoro, Syma 9
torquata, Chauna 76

— , Saxicola 71
torquatus, Celeus 80
townsendi, Myadestes 172
Toxorhamphus iliolophus 11

— novaeguineae 11

— poliopterus 181
Tregellasia leucops 10
triangularis, Xiphorhynchus 61
Trichastoma bicolor 90

— mialaccense 90

— rufescens 271

— rufipennis 271

— sepiarium 90
tridactyla, Rissa 250
Tringa erythropus 69

— glareola 70

XXVI

— melanoleuca 12, 18

— solitaria 77
tristis, Corvus 11, 177, 180-1
tristissima, Lonchura 179, 181
tristriatus, Basileuterus 61
trochilus, Phylloscopus 25, 69
‘Trochocercus nigromitratus 271-2

Trochocercus nigromitratus colstoni

subsp. nov. 272
‘Troglodytes solstitialis 61
— troglodytes 32, 34
‘Trogon personatus 61

— viridis 80
Tryngites subruficollis 153
tuberosa, Mitu 77
tukki, Meiglyptes 89
turdinus, Schiffornis 61
Turdus albicollis 170-3

— fischeri 65

— fulviventris 61

— fumigatus 170-3

— iliacus 71

— lawrenci 73, 83

— leucomelas 170-3

— libonyanus 172-3

— migratorius 172-3

— naumanni 71

— nudigenis 170-2

— olivaceus 172-3
Turtur afer 274
Tyrannus melancholicus 61

— savana 19, 158
tyrannus, Spizaetus 235
Tyto alba 12, 19, 221

— multipunctata 9

ucayalae, Simoxenops 156
umbratilis, Rhinomyias 90
underwoodu, Ocreatus 61
unduligera, Frederickena 73, 81
unicolor, Aphelocoma 241

— , Chloropipo 61

— , Haplospiza 36-8

— , Thamnophilus 61
unirufa, Synallaxis 61
urinatrix, Pelecanoides 15
Urosticte benjamini 61
ustulatus, Catharus 172

vaalensis, Anthus 28
Vanellus chilensis 17
vanikorensis, Collocalia 9
variolosus, Cacomantis 9
varius, Empidonomus 158
vauxi, Chaetura 238
Veniliornis fumigatus 61
Vermivora crissalis 241

— ruficapilla 241
verreauxul, Aquila 266
versicolor, Pachyramphus 158
verticalis, Creurgops 61

XXVIl1

vigilax, Cisticola natalensis subsp. nov. _ wilsonia, Charadrius 236

86-8 woodhousei, Parmoptila 272-3
violaceus, Cyanocorax 74, 83
violiceps, Amazilia 239 xanthecephala, Tangara 61
virens, Pycnonotus 276 xanthogaster, Euphonia 61
virens poensis, Pycnonotus subsp. nov. Xema sabini 71

Xenops rutilans 61

Xenus cinereus 70

Xiphocolaptes promeropirhynchus 61
Xiphorhynchus triangularis 61

Vireo flavoviridis 83

— huttoni 40
virgatus, Sericornis 10
virginianus, Colinus 40
viridiflavus, Zimmerius 61
viridis, Calyptomena 89

= cus: la

— , Trogon 80
vittata, Sterna 18
vulgaris, Sturnus 66

yneas, Cyanocorax 61

Zaratornis 101

Zenaida auriculata 19
Zimmerius viridiflavus 61
zoeae, Ducula 9

wahlbergi, Aquila 266 zonaris, Streptoprocne 61, 238
Wetmorethraupis sterrhopteron 60 Zonotrichia capensis 12, 20
whitii, Poospiza 160 Zoothera princei 271
willcocks1, Indicator 270 Zosterops fuscicapillus 11

CORRECTIONS TO TEXT

Page 17, line 36 Numenius not Numemius

Page 28, line 28 leucophrys not leucophris

Page 28, line 30 Pinarocorys not Pynarocorys

Page 32, line 17 Troglodytes troglodytes not Troglodytes Troglodytes
Page 61, line 36 boissonneautiz not biossonneauti
Page 70, line 35 Lagopus mutus not L. mutus

Page 82, line 25 platyrhynchos not platyrinchos
Page 158, line 14 savana not savanna

Page 177, line 12 reinwardtsi not reinwardti

Page 182, line 32 Loboparadisea not Loboparadisaea
Page 205, line 14 Corvus not Corcus

Page 237, line 1 melanotos not melanotus

Page 237, line 21 Chlidonias not Childonias

Page 266, line 22 verreauxi not verreauxi

Page 277, line 4 Melaenornis not Malaenornis

Vol. 114, page 210, line 16 add I. McAllan after Mrs R. Liversidge

Printed in Great Britain by Henry Ling Ltd., at the Dorset Press, Dorchester, Dorset

NOTICE TO CONTRIBUTORS
Papers, from Club Members or non-members, should be sent to the Editor, Dr
D. W. Snow, The Old Forge, Wingrave, Aylesbury, Bucks HP22 4PD, U.K., and
must be offered solely to the Bulletin. They should be typed on one side of the
paper, with treble-spacing and a wide margin, and submitted in duplicate. The
style and lay-out should conform with usage in this or recent issues of the Bulletin.

A contributor is entitled to 10 free offprints of the pages of the Bulletin in which his
contribution, if one page or more in length, appears. Additional offprints or offprints of
contributions of less than one page may be ordered when the manuscript is submitted and
will be charged for. Authors may be charged for proof corrections for which they are
responsible.

BACK NUMBERS OF THE BULLETIN

Available on application to the Hon. Treasurer, as below (Vol. 93 onwards, 4
issues per year; Vols. 89—92, 6 issues per year; Vols. 88 and earlier, generally 9
issues per year): 1993 and after (Vols. 113 onwards) £4.50 each issue; 1983-92
(Vols. 103-112) £4 each issue; 1981-2 (Vols. 101 & 102) £3.50 each issue; 1980
(Vol. 100) No. 1 £4.50, Nos. 2, 3 & 4 £2.50 each issue; 1973-9 (Vols. 93-99)
£2.50 each issue; 1969-72 (Vols. 89-92) £2 each issue; 1929-68 (Vols. 50-88)
£1.20 each issue; Vol. 49 and before £2.50 each issue.

Indices: Vol. 112 and after £2.00; Vols. 70-111 £1.50 each; Vols. 50-69
£2.50 each; Vol. 49 and before £6 each.

Long runs (10 years or more) for Vol. 50 and after are available at reduced
rates on enquiry. Postage and packing extra. Orders over £50 post free. Special
issue Vol. 112A, 1992, in hardback, 300p, £32, inc. p&p.

MEMBERSHIP
Only Members of the British Ornithologists’ Union are eligible to join the
Club; applications should be sent to the Hon. Treasurer, as below, together
with the annual subscription (£8.50 or, if preferred, U.S. $22 for 1994, postage
and index free). Changes of address and any correspondence concerning
membership should be addressed to the Hon. Treasurer.

SUBSCRIPTION TO THE BULLETIN
The Bulletin (Vol. 114 onwards) may be purchased by non-members on
payment of the annual subscription (£20 or, if preferred, U.S. $40 for 1994,
postage and index free). Applications should be sent to the Hon. Treasurer.
Single issues may be obtained as back numbers.

PAYMENTS TO HON. TREASURER

Payments should be sent to the Hon. Treasurer, S. J. Farnsworth,
Hammerkop, Frogmill, Hurley, Maidenhead, Berks SL65NL, U.K., or credited
direct to the Club’s bank account—No. 10211540, Sort Code 20 00 87, at Barclays
Prime Account, Dale House, Wavertree Boulevard, Liverpool L7 9PQ, U.K.,
with confirmation to the Hon. Treasurer. All payments are net and should be in
Sterling if possible. Payment in other currencies must include a further £4 for
U.K. Bank Charges (except for annual rates in U.S. Dollars which are inclusive).

CORRESPONDENCE
Correspondence about Club Meetings and on all other matters should go to
the Hon. Secretary, Mrs A. M. Moore, 1 Uppingham Road, Oakham, Rutland
LE15 6JB, U.K.

CONTENTS

CLUB -NOMICES |) vate cos 's Sa Seeedasaue 5 ee: s ado alete een ee
BECKING, J. H. On the biology of the Javan Scops Owl Otus
GNDEUNGE KE. e & Cstee, idie AC aS bee OO eee
CLANCEY, P. A. Subspeciation in Erythropygia coryphoeus
(Vieillot) of the Southwest Arid Zone of Africa ...........
MARANTZ, C. A. & REMSEN, J. V., Jr. First records of Tangara
cyanicollis melanogaster from Bolivia .................+00-
HOWELL, S. N. G. & WEBB, S. Additional information on the birds
of Guerrero, MEXICO) 205.04. uid hacen an co a A ee
MAYR, E. & GERLOFF, J. ‘The number of subspecies of birds
VILLASENOR, J. F. & PHILLIPS, A. R. A new, puzzling, American

route of the Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea, and its
IMAP TCATIONS sor ois celc cae cede see co cts) ap actislica tae Va en
SOMADIKARTA, S. The identity of the Marquesan Swiftlet
Collocalia) ocista:Oberholser = =-5 4254-0 eee
OLSON, Ss. L. Cranial osteology of Tawny and Steppe Eagles
Aguilairapax andvAs nipalensts: uk). 2). a-ha e ee e eee
DICKERMAN, R. W., CANE, W. P., CARTER, M. F., CHAPMAN, A. &
SCHMITT, C. G. Report on three collections of birds from
L551 Yeh Git pee ene ney SUA eer LON MoM aE men RUM RR ERNE So 5 oo oc
DICKERMAN, R. W. Notes on birds from Africa with descriptions
of threemew. subspecies|= 4 .). .2 2 9s ham eia st eee

In Brief CLANCEY, P. A. The type-locality of Nectarinia
senegalensis gutturalis (Linnaeus), 1766 ..........

BOOKS: RECEIVED 2/2) (30) )50e ga) Caledon ar een ee eee a

249

259

264

267

274

278
279

The Bulletin is despatched from the printers on publication and is sent by Surface Saver
Postal Services to all European destinations outside the U.K. and by Air Saver Postal
Services to destinations outside Europe. Those whose subscriptions have not been received
by the beginning of a month of publication will have their copies despatched by surface

mail, after their current subscription has been paid.

COMMITTEE
D. Griffin (Chairman) (1993) Revd T. W. Gladwin (Vice-Chairman) (1993)
Dr D. W. Snow (Editor) (1991) S. J. Farnsworth (Treasurer) (1990)
Mrs A. M. Moore (Hon. Secretary) (1989) Miss H. Baker (1994)
Dr J. F. Monk (1991) Dr R. A. Cheke (1991)

R. E. F. Peal (1993)

Printed on acid-free paper.

ON, ine

CONSBRVATI

@67 PB =

Published by the BRIT .~ 83/8 33. 198115 Sey CLUB and CHUB andiaen eee by

Henry Ling Ltd., at ‘the Danse? pee pecenesce Dorset

Lo ety = 70 he
=f > = > % eS
- ze ay real
WwW m w m nw
< ” < wo a
JOILALILSNI NVINOSHLINS SSIYVYUEIT LIBRARIES
=z Ww zz , wm z
4 2 — ‘
E = 5 a a
Y g : g 2N
E 2 E 2 i:
Shes oe
aR 2 a eR aa =
-LBRARIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOILONLILSN! NVINOSHLIWS S31

IBRARIES

wi = ui 2 ip

a ii! hid = x

< ts ay <x = <x

a = oc = o

a o = 5 Bt fize

al | Zz pect | Pd Ss a)
JOILALILSNI NVINOSHLIWS ~°3 lyYVvug Up LIBRARI pec e b IS)

= (@) pees Oo ta ow

oo . =< oO = Lig OO

70 Ws = 0 5 ly, 20

SPR ANS WS 5 fe & E Yap i,

a DNAX or ben] — be yf: Gao}

w jai 2 Bs Sl 7)
AIBRARI ES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOILNLILSNI Ma yaects lity 1

“w pee P= e

= SEI hi: sit yore < =
= > = => = 4
z 3 z .5 2 |
8 2 a 2 a
Z i 2, i 29

mS = 2 SS = = =
VOILNLILSNI_NVINOSHLINS SI YVYG!IT LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN INST

= z > wn | Ss

7) ut
= = 4 Yin, ©
= )} = Yo fp fia
_< DW he

= a S g fer S

5 ra re) i re)

Z a z 2
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOILOALILSN! NVINOSHIINS S31

INSTITUTION

NOILNLILSNI

SMITHSONIAN

SMITHSONIAN

IBRARIES

tas
[aa
<
[ag
MM .
5
fa 5 Cc z
; 2) a °
s = e iz
> = > =
2 = s F
B Z eB 2
S3SiI¥YVYE!IT LIBRARIES INS”
w ae oe (op) a
Ss x = ee ya
= Ti Pegi =| 2 UN
Sy Bh oi). = 5 \
SU ge & B 2 \
= “py = = -
S . Ss 4 b& =
= w ae oa
INSTITUTION NOILALILSNI NVINOSHLINS S3I
z a = wy
2 a n Bh
: z : :
< <
= ac = ee
fo) ea 3 at

NOS\AY
Ssltuvy

ad)

ON NOILNILILSNI

NVINOSHLINS

iq LIBRARIES

NOILALILSNI

ON NOILNLILSNI

Boe
INSTITUTION

17 _ LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN

nS
SMITHSONIAN

y

IN NOILNILILSNI

Re Ada es
LIBRARIES

17 LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN

AEA 8
S3tuvyusgit

NVINOSHLINS S3tUYWHYSIT_LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN

NOILALILSNI

INSTITUTION

IN NOILNLILSNI

i

ee
NOILONLILSNI

NVINOSHLIWS

IBRARIES

SMITHSONIAN

NVINOSHLINS

INSTITUTION NOILALILSNI

SMITHSONIAN

NVINOSHLIWS

S S3IYVYUGIT LIBRARIES

a
< =
= +
(@) aE
YY) (op)
a= (e)
= =
= =
ip) ma

SMITHSONIAN

oh Zz
ad Paz)
= =
SG =
—
wm —
— Oo
avy aud za

S$ Sa3Iuvy

NVINOSHLIW

Saiuvugit

INSTITUTION

INSTITUTION

SAIYVYEIT LIBRARIES

INSTITUTION NOILNLILSNI NVINOSHLIWS

INSTITUT

SJIYVYUBIT LIBRARIES

SMITHSONIAN

INSTITUTION NOILQLILSNI

NOILALILSNI NVINOSHLINS

INSTITUTION

LIBRARIES

SMITHSONIAN

NVINOSHLINS S31uVvy

wo =

tus z SY.

~ Ww RQ

az a I |

< on ci 2 SN s

cc c LN

4 \

2 ea Ve

ay 2 Se
LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN

c Se ae

= 5 Fy:

a & Gh £0"

a E s Me panes

m. 2 Ff

w = t
NOILNLILSNI = NVINOSHLIWS

BRIRSERIAVCRPTR OAL

ug
\
SMITHSONIAN

LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN

we =
a ¢
:
Pay is
a
oo A
NOILALILSNI NVINOSHLIWS
te z
ow C
Bs) F
P= Jie ra
= F
Oo z
wm
=
|
Ae
wm
Oo
Z2
=

FR DARP TFC CAAITLICTAIIAN

NOILALILSNI

I

|

88 00984 8524

ll

|

|

|

‘Nh

————

—
_———
—$£
SS=

A apaatae st

espa hae
Teun

Pi iene tata

pew art tes
tity ey Apt
Haeeerer irra a ren
prearrertny iret ere ° paneer
Vee sh ner SP a
Ls Lie td r r ‘ 3 F
tay fg ga ae OF OD
, * Tae "i 3
J bee heer cieeerar ies
ena bers
on 8d

Sa Sacgcan tes
ever ate tla 4
Cal et paths te Ay
papear ite sass rerert stack awe ehepabolte 1
. arte 3 ; oe C
nag spot a i fat :
cnc <5) : S pinktiie pion one
grat POF s eines ees
‘’ nesee a - ; elie
j NES ig
cage phate ea Z we
one